Would you listen to an obese nutritionist?

While discussing whether coaching researchers need to coach, a colleague posed a ‘thought experiment’ on Twitter the other day that went like this:

“Would you listen to a personal trainer who had never trained or a nutritionist who was obese?”

Although my colleague eventually shared that he holds a similar position to my own (*spoiler — that we shouldn’t judge knowledge based on appearance — who knew), I’m sure there are many others who believe a personal trainer should be muscular and that a nutritionist should appear healthy. This reminded me of a post I wrote about stereotypes in the medical profession a few years back. The post started with a dilemma, which I have tweaked for the purposes of this post.

A 17-year old boy was recently recruited to an elite academy level sports team. On their way to a game, the father and son are in a car accident. The father requires minor medical treatment and heads to the hospital, but encourages his son to go to the game. On entering the dressing room, the team manager looks at the boy and says, “I’m surprised to see you here, son?”. How is this possible

If your first thought went to anything other than the team manager is the boy’s mother, then it is likely that you hold a male / manager stereotype.

For those who may not be aware, stereotypes reflect a set of qualities that are thought to represent the essence of a social group and the typical traits associated with group members. Further, they provide contextual information around social groups and the roles, expectations and behaviours associated with group membership. Although stereotypes are thought to be reasonably accurate at a group level, when applied to individuals, this is not always the case. Instead of relying on cognitive shortcuts, it is important that individuals reflect upon the source of these stereotypes and consider counter stereotypical images. This is especially true when some form of evaluation is required of those who fall outside one’s own membership group. As at a group level, stereotypes often result in the systematic and favorable evaluation of one’s own membership group (i.e., in-group).

The original discussion prompted me to wonder, if we’re judging an individual’s knowledge on a subject by their appearance, what should a coach look like? I suspect for many, the stereotypical picture for a coach is that of a white, middle-aged, male. This would seem supported by the various biases that are regularly reported (e.g., race, gender, disability, and age) by those working in sport. If this is the image you recalled, it may be worth reflecting upon the reasons for this and exploring information that counters this stereotype. It is not easy to change your biases, but if you find yourself judging an individual’s knowledge of a topic or suitability for a role on little more than their appearance, if nothing else, consider why.

Find out more about me and my research at www.johnpmills.co.uk