1. I had an experience within the community setting relating to
the physical dimension of wellness in which bias had a major
impact. The physical dimension of wellness fundamentally
revolves around caring for one’s body and staying healthy in
the present as well as in the future (Stoewen, 2017). The
specific experience that I had involved an obese man living in
my neighborhood who was trying to reduce weight by
curtailing the intake of calories and excess fat. During a feast in
the community, he had vowed not to consume any unhealthy
food as it could adversely impact his weight. However, after a
few hours, he was unable to resist his temptation and
consumed a large quantity of junk food and became sick the
next day. The specific bias that was observed is restraint bias.
Restraint bias arises when a person overestimates his or her level of
self-control in the face of some kind of temptation (Are biases
hurting your health? | wellness | US news. US news, 2016). In the
specific community setting, the obese man overestimated his
expectations to control the urge to consume unhealthy food, and he
ultimately gave in to his temptation. Thus, the specific bias played an
instrumental role and impacted the physical wellness aspect of the
person.
a. The experience served as a major eye-opener for me. It made
me realize that even though a person may have confidence in
himself to focus on his personal wellness, the inability to have
proper control can act as a major barrier. It is necessary to
identify one’s capabilities to resist temptations that could
adversely affect one’s health and wellness. In case the
temptation is extremely high, one might want to take more
strict measures to resist the temptation. In the community
setting, even though I had previously seen the obese man
control his eating habits, his lack of control in the specific
occasion showed that restraint bias could have an adverse
impact on one’s well-being. The event has reshaped my
comprehension of wellness. In order to attain wellness at the
comprehensive level, one must be able to overcome diverse
kinds of biases that may arise.
b. Every person needs to have a complete and thorough
understanding relating to biases and how they might influence
one’s thoughts. The insight into bias has made me rethink the
specific experience and the concept of wellness. As it is human
nature to have several kinds of cognitive biases, one must take
into consideration such tendencies to thinking when it comes
to health and wellness. The personal beliefs and opinions that
one has may play a key role in skewing one’s perspective and
give rise to health-related implications. The experience that I
have shared gives a glimpse into how the overestimation of
one’s capacity can drive a person towards making unhealthy
decisions. It is vital to think in a practical and logical manner by
eliminating biases so that the wellness of a person would not
get compromised because of personal views and beliefs. Since
biased perceptions can lead to risky health behavior, it is vital
to keep a check on these elements (Arni et al., 2021).
References
c. Are biases hurting your health? | wellness | US news. US news.
(2016). Retrieved July 6, 2022, from
https://health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/2016-10-05/are-
biases-hurting-your-health
d. Arni, P., Dragone, D., Goette, L., & Ziebarth, N. R. (2021). Biased
health perceptions and risky health behaviors—Theory and
evidence. Journal of Health Economics, 76, 102425.
e. Stoewen, D. L. (2017). Dimensions of wellness: Change your
habits, change your life. The Canadian veterinary journal, 58(8),
861.
