---
title: "Questioning Your Own Biases"
description: "Reflect on their own assumptions and biases, recognising that everyone carries unconscious assumptions about others, and that actively questioning these assumptions is an ongoing practice that leads t"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/personal-and-social-development/questioning-your-own-biases-mt_cOknxrYhwL
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/personal-and-social-development/questioning-your-own-biases-mt_cOknxrYhwL.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Questioning Your Own Biases

Reflect on their own assumptions and biases, recognising that everyone carries unconscious assumptions about others, and that actively questioning these assumptions is an ongoing practice that leads to greater fairness and empathy

Subject: Personal & Social Development · Area: Empathy & Social Awareness · Ages 9 to 11
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/personal-and-social-development/questioning-your-own-biases-mt_cOknxrYhwL

## Ready when they can

- Describe a time they made an assumption about someone that turned out to be wrong
- Explain what unconscious bias means in simple terms
- Describe a strategy for checking their own assumptions, such as asking questions before judging

## Lesson: Checking Your Own Assumptions

Everyone carries assumptions about people without noticing it. These quick, automatic guesses are called unconscious biases. They come from things you have seen, heard, or experienced before, and they can shape your thinking before you even realize it.

**Example.** Zara is new at school and stays quiet on her first day. Some kids decide she must be unfriendly. But when someone finally sits with her at lunch, they learn she was just nervous and did not know anyone yet. The first assumption about Zara was wrong.

Before you decide what someone is like, pause and sort what you actually know from what you are only guessing. Then close that gap by asking a real question instead of filling it with a guess. The same move works on yourself: when you notice a pattern in your own behaviour that you never chose, noticing it is the first step and questioning it is the second.

*(drawing: Checking a guess is four small moves. The pause comes first, before anything else.)*

Questioning your own biases is not something you do once and finish. It is a habit you keep practicing, every time you meet someone new or notice a quick judgment forming in your head.

**Recap.** Notice the assumption, question it, then check it by asking instead of guessing.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Stereotypes and Individual Differences](https://lightmysky.com/learn/personal-and-social-development/stereotypes-and-individual-differences-mt_2oswCNuapH)
- [Prejudice and Discrimination](https://lightmysky.com/learn/personal-and-social-development/prejudice-and-discrimination-mt_HFN1pGASpZ)
- [Questioning First Impressions](https://lightmysky.com/learn/personal-and-social-development/questioning-first-impressions-mt_Mb1JUJmnbX)

## Opens up

- [Ethics in Real-World Issues](https://lightmysky.com/learn/personal-and-social-development/ethics-in-real-world-issues-mt_RNeEF1JU4J)
- [Sympathy Versus Empathy](https://lightmysky.com/learn/personal-and-social-development/sympathy-versus-empathy-mt_VA126P6Wp5)