Racial tolerance spreads

Before he won Survivor Fiji, I remember Earl Cole talking about his friendship with Yau-Man Chan. He was impressed that a black man and a Malaysian man could form such a close bond - an unlikely alliance in his world.

Our deepest beliefs about the world, about each other, about money, and about ourselves are all open to the possibility of change. Often it takes an event, like Survivor, to challenge our convictions. But if we open ourselves to the possibility that the way we understand the world is not the only way, then we open ourselves to endless possibilities.

A recent New York Times article caught my attention because of its focus on possibility. Race and cultural difference is always on the agenda in South Africa, and the spread of trust between races, rather than suspicion, is a challenging concept for change.

...mutual trust between members of different races can catch on just as quickly, and spread just as fast, as suspicion.

In some new studies, psychologists have been able to establish a close relationship between diverse pairs — black and white, Latino and Asian, black and Latino — in a matter of hours. That relationship immediately reduces conscious and unconscious bias in both people, and also significantly reduces prejudice toward the other group in each individual’s close friends.

This extended-contact effect, as it is called, travels like a benign virus through an entire peer group, counteracting subtle or not so subtle mistrust.

“It’s important to remember that implicit biases are out there, absolutely; but I think that that’s only half the story,” said Linda R. Tropp, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts. “With broader changes in the society at large, people can also become more willing to reach across racial boundaries, and that goes for both minorities and whites.”

Read the article here...

Change may happen slowly in our lives. And that's ok. We can open ourselves to the possibility of that change by focusing on what we want more of in our lives rather than on what we don't want. The most incredible possibilities are available if we open our minds to that possibility!

Mark Connelly - Change Mangagement Coach, Business & Life Coach, Psychologist - Cape Town