1. The Warren Harding error reveals the dark-side of 'thin-slicing'--when our instincts betray us and our rapid cognition goes awry. Looking at the example of that 1920 presidency, can we say that this type of error is happening today in political elections? Do you think this explains why there has never been a black or female president?
** Note- this book was written in 2005. Since we have seen a black president.... consider what may have changed in society to allow for that. What about why we still haven't seen a female?
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I believe that even with a black president we are still "thin-slicing" with the Warren Harding mentality. Our society has changed because the minorities are rising up and don't want to be treated differently from the whites. We all seem to like what is on the outside in this case some Americans like the fact that we have a black president and want to stick to what they believe is right. On the other hand some people think we should stick to our own ways and not have a black president because it is out of our norms. We see and think of things that we like and appease us, which can sometimes lead us to betrayal in our judgments.
ReplyDeleteI do think that we see this type of error in society and political elections. However, I don't think we realize we are doing it. If Romney and Obama have a debate and Obama is well dressed and distinguished and Romney didn't comb his hair, is slouching but makes better points, who will win the debate? Obama. looking clean and professional is all part of a game and candidates recognize that. If they didn't they would pay more attention to the issues and less attention to how shiny their shoes are. A presidential candidate is supposed to be the superhero that saves our country...he should 'look the part.'
ReplyDeleteI believe that we unconsciously tend to choose the person that carry themselves a certain way. Like in the book, people liked Warren for his appearance and the way that he held himself but did not look at the things that he had to offer. We may still do that today but in a different way. Because we have elected a black president, I think that we have learned to ignore some of the prejudices that we think when making a snap judgement. By ignoring these prejudices we are able to see a person or situation in a different way. I think that we have not seen a female president yet because of the stereotypical idea of a women and people have still not let go of the prejudices that are made about women.
ReplyDeleteEven in today’s society, thin slicing is commonly used in political elections. Although we have a black president, we still have never seen a female president. I think the reason for this is that people may thin slice women and believe that they are not as strong, dominant, and powerful looking as men are. Therefore, this judgment may cause someone believe that a woman is not capable of running a country. However, changes in society that have allowed a black man to become president can happen for women as well. I believe that society’s perception of blacks have changed because the younger generations compared to the older generations have been raised without as much prejudice against blacks. In elections today, people still tend to unconsciously make snap judgments about candidates based on how they look and act because we have an image of what a good president should act and look like. The snap judgment we make will subconsciously affect who we vote for.
ReplyDeleteI think that errors that happened in the Warren Harding election take place today. America has never elected a women president is a great example of dark-side thin-slicing. Now that we have a black president it is evident to see that negative thin-slicing is slowly fading but I feel it is still present. Yes, President Obama may me African American, but he is still a man, which makes it easier for people to pick him rather than picking a woman to be president.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people subconsciously or consciously discriminate against women and hold lower expectations for as they would men, especially when it comes to holding an important role in society like being president, etc.
I believe that thin-slicing is still present in politics today. LIke the Warren Harding trial, I think that some of us judge on appearance instead of personality or beliefs. In the presidential election, I believe the way they hold themselves is very important. One president may be presentable, shaved, and wearing nice clothes, while the other is slouched, messy, and dirty looking. I think most of us would choose the presentable one because we think he will be a better person to take on our country. We may thin slice and not realize that the messy candidate could have much better beliefs than the clean candidate. although, in a male verse female election, I do not think we thin-slice as much. I personally would give both of them the chance to win my vote. Just because men may be seen as superior to women, I think that a female could have better suggestions for our country. Also, a common thin-slice is that women are more organized which may be an advantage for their vote.
ReplyDeleteI do think that the same type of error is still happening today in political elections. Although we do have a black president, some people are still "thin-slicing" just like the Warren Harding error. I think that a major reason we haven't had a female president yet is because of negative "thin-slicing". I feel as if people consider women incapable of holding such a powerful position. This makes no sense to me because women are just as capable of doing anything men can do!
ReplyDeleteI strongly believe that The Warren Harding error still exists, but many people do not realize it because the process occurs subconsciously. Unlike the 1920's today's society/this generation, is more accepting towards different ethnicities; one being African Americans, hence why we have a black president. However, we must keep in mind that racism does still exist. People still have prejudice towards certain races and appearances but their discrimination is not always acted upon. But for those who are not racist, they may judge or make assumptions on the presidential candidates on their pins, what they are wearing and how they talk. Who they vote for is based on how each candidate presents himself. These are examples of the Warren Harding error. A reason why we never had a female president is because the majority of constituents do not take women seriously. In addition, women are thought to have the image of the "domestic housewife" who is in charge of cleaning, cooking and taking care of the children. This being said, women are not expected to make "outside" decisions such as deciding on which car to buy. For example, if a woman were to try to purchase a car, the cars salesman would take advantage of her and raise the price. If the customer were a man however, the car salesman would not think twice about trying to cheat him. Overall, although a person may not admit to having prejudice towards African Americans or women, IAT tests have proven that our judgment or Warren Harding error is often done subconsciously and may differ from what we say we believe.
ReplyDeleteI believe the "dark side" of thin-slicing still occurs in the election for presidency today. People notice slight differences between the two candidates and use that to decide subconsciously which one is more dedicated to the cause. For many people in this election Romney will win their vote not only because of his position on certain topics but because he has more of the "classic" president look. He has graying hair, he looks dignified, he looks intelligent, and he is white. Because all of our presidents with the exception of Obama have been white men, when we think "president" we automatically think of a graying, white male. This is probably the reason we have never had a female president. As for why we didn't have a black president until Obama? Well, as proven by the IAT tests on the subject of race, most people, even with dark-skin, are more inclined to people with lighter skin tones. However, now that the country is beginning to become more and more tolerant of everyone, we were able to look past skin color and elect a black president.
ReplyDeleteI think the "dark side" of thin-slicing does occur in the presidential election today. Even though we do have a black president, people still thin slice. I think when it comes to picking a candidate to agree with many people go my what they believe, but some people may go by how they act or how they look. It is unfair to both candidates because we should pick someone that will do good for our country, we shouldn't thin-slice them.
ReplyDeleteI think that we do see the error of "thin slicing" in our political elections today. I do feel that even though we have a black president we are still using Warren Harding mentality. It is something we do not even realizing we are doing because at this point it is what we are used to. I do feel that this explains why we have not had a female president because we usually see men as the more dominant and stronger person. But as for having a black president, I feel we are making a lot of progress with "thin-slicing" people in our society.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the dark side of thin-slicing does in fact still occur in our political elections today. Each and every person, no matter if they admit it or not, is prejudice in some way. When a person acts upon these prejudice beliefs, however, exemplifies how one is truly and openly prejudice or even racist. Americans have a certain view point of what they picture a president to look like: a dignified, tall, white male around the age of 40-60 with a bold and handsome face complementing his striking features. This idea completely disregards the idea of a female, a person of another race, or even a very young or very old president. These characteristics go against the social norm of what the past presidents were perceived as. Yet, what made society change it's view in 2008 and elect the first black president of the United States? Over time, I feel that our racial and prejudice beliefs have diminished over the years. The election of Barack Obama, however, was to most people exciting. The excitement to have something new. The excitement to have change. The excitement that maybe this will change the future forever.
ReplyDeleteSociety has a preconceived idea of what is "correct". The election of 1920 displays that thin slicing does have a dark side, and through it the flaws in society's preconceived ideas can be seen. Harding was seen as the ideal president in ways of appearance. However, as learned, "handsome" may only be a facade. A strong, dominant male figure is often seen as powerful, lending itself to the association with presidency. Fortunately, current generations are beginning to see the equality between both men and women. The stereotype: "woman=housewife" is slowly changing, yet the prejudice continues to linger. However, there is also a stereotype among race; yet, our country elected an African American man as president. Society has overcome major prejudices and I have no doubt they attempt at continuing toward equality in all aspects.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the Warren Harding Error still plays a part in political elections. I do believe that this is why 2008 was the first year we had a black president and still have not had a female president. Because people have grown accustomed to having white presidents, it seemed out of the ordinary when Obama ran. Because he wasn't white, people were skeptical about him. They made claims that he wasn't a U.S. citizen. Earlier today Donald Trump made a statement saying that Obama has to show him his school records saying he went to college. In my perspective, when the majority society sees an African American they automatically think that they are unqualified for anything. I also believe the same argument applies for women. When Hilary Clinton ran to be the democrat candidate in 2008, the majority of society thin-sliced the situation because they believed that a woman could not be in charge. Even though we are in the 21st century and claim that we are all equals, we're technically not. And I believe that it is because of the dark side of thin-slicing.
ReplyDeleteI believe that there is definitely proof of warren harding errors in political elections today. I think that even though Obama has become president, people still have unconscious prejudice behind their locked door. Many say that they will not vote for Obama because he did not do as he promised. Yet, I am convinced that if those voters took the Harvard tests as we did, they would have a slight to moderate preference of white people. This is unfair to him and also impacts the votes per candidate.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Warrens Harding errors in politics today is true. there is some prejudiced today during the 2012 elections. People make assumption on the candidates without knowing what is really their opinion on the issues. I believe that we have not had a female president yet because many people think that women are too sensitive and will crack under the pressure of making important decisions. My opinion is that we the citizens of america judge people way to quickly.
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ReplyDeleteI believe that the Warren Harding errors is prevalent in politics today. I think that this kind of thin-slicing is why we have never had a black president until Obama, and why we still do not have a female president. I think that this is certainly the "dark side" of thin slicing. In "Blink," people prefered Warren's appearance and the way that he held himself rather than the things that he had to offer to the country. In the case of this presidential election, the opposite is true. People believed that Obama would be incompetent to run a country due to his race, when in reality he attended an ivy league school and was extremely educated.
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