According to William Sonnenschein, a lecturer at the Haas School of Business of the University of California at Berkeley, we all have biases, “ism,” in our belief system.  The “ism” prism allows us to explore and understand our biases and their sources. The prism uses questions about how we have been socialized to show us the origins of our beliefs, attitudes, and values. The subject areas include the following:

Family influences

Personal experiences

Educational experiences

Peer influences

Media influences

Critical incidents

Instructions

Putting questions into the prism allows you to look at your life’s influences.  What comes out of the other side of the prism is how these influences have affected you.

Answer the following questions so that you can see your life’s influences on the following prism question in paragraph form:

How do I feel about Native Americans?

Family Influences

• What were my parents’ attitudes toward Native Americans?
• What were the attitudes of my other relatives?

Personal Experiences

• Did I know any Native Americans?
• Did I see reservations as I traveled?
• Did I have other personal experiences with Native Americans?

Educational Experiences

• What did I learn in history at school about Native Americans?

Peer Influences

• Did I play the game “Cowboys and Indians” as a child? How did playing or not playing affect me?
• What were my friends’ attitudes about Native Americans?

Media Influences

• What did TV tell me about Native Americans? Movies?
• What did I read in newspapers? Books? Other media?

Critical Incidents

• What critical incidents happened during my life that might have affected or changed my view?