Diversity Series Presents the Neuroscience of Inclusion

Asma Abuzaakouk, industrial organizational psychologist, The MITRE Corporation, educated participants on the neuroscience behind the brain's "hard-wired" biases and their impacts on emotions, thoughts, behaviors and decision-making during the chapter's Diversity webinar in March. To survive, the brain constantly scans for danger. Whenever perceived, our predominate Threat system (one of three, Threat, Soothing and Drive) is triggered, and our innate biases respond to the perceived danger (such as those dissimilar to us). "If you breathe, you are biased,' even without realizing it. Given this fact, Abuzaakouk offered tools to help build awareness of how bias influences thoughts/behaviors; how to recognize/manage bias in decision-making; and how to regulate our threat system and biases to promote inclusion (vice exclusion) in the workplace and society. In short, neuroscience proves that inclusion is essential to well-being, not only societal but organizational, since it is proven to garner increased performance and return on investment.

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