Here's a scientific way to test and discover your biases: just choose (2023)

Should we test our prejudices or is it not necessary? After all, we're not stereotypes, we're not racists, we don't favor beautiful people over less beautiful people (beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?)

young on old
Skinny over fat.
men over women.

But do you know for sure?

Find out your bias or implicit association test (IAT)

This is what researchers from the Harvard Implicit Project have developeda test (IAT or implicit association test)that can certainly help you.

Word got out about the testfor more than two decadesand helped people uncover biases they might not even know existed.

my own inclination

I first took this test about 10 years ago during one of the diversity workshops I attended when I was working for the United Nations.

I discovered a bias I didn't know I had. because i had one"Slight implicit stereotyped preference for men over women."

But what does it really mean to have an implicit bias (slight or not)?

Here is the explanation ofFAQ Quiz.

“An implicit stereotype is relatively inaccessible to awareness and/or control.

Even if you say that men and women are equally good at math, you are likely to associate math more strongly with men without being actively aware of it. In that case, we would say that you have an unspoken mathematical stereotype.”

Although I was horrified, it was something of a revelation. He clarified why I always chose male mentors, why I automatically trusted male authorities over female ones, etc.

That's what the stylist Paula Scher talks aboutIn this article:

“But most of the time he is trustworthy and I have to earn my own. It's the only way to describe it, it's a free pass. By the way, women do it too, not only men are to blame, I also have clients who do the same.”

just awful.

But thanks to this test and the knowledge of my unconscious bias, I was able to work on it.

It was an unfounded personal bias that probably has to do with the environment I grew up in, my life experiences, the fact that I received more guidance and support from male personalities as a child and young man. Later, I found a job in a male-dominated environment, etc.

But of course, who wants to live with such prejudice, even if it is implicit? Did that influence me as a leader? A friend? A relative? Does this mean I'm biased?

The evidence shows that implicit biases are not necessarily compatible and that this may even contradict what one consciously believes, it also shows that people with implicit biases most of the time do not react to them in obvious ways.

But once I became aware of my bias, I was able to acknowledge it, acknowledging it and accepting it was enough to get over it.

So what I'm trying to say is: get tested.
It's fun and you might learn something new about yourself, and I totally agree.live a tested life!

How does the bias test work?

As you take the quiz, you will be asked to quickly sort the words into categories projected on the left and right side of your computer screen.

It is a test that you should do when you are alone, as it requires quite a bit of time and concentration.

“The test measures the strength of associations between terms (eg, black, white, gay) and qualifications (eg, good, bad) or stereotypes (eg, athletic, awkward, fat, thin ). The main idea is that it's easier to give an answer when closely related items have the same answer key.

The test consists of five main parts related to:

• the concepts (for example, fat people, thin people)
• Words related to the rating (for example, good, bad)
• evaluation concept and words.
• change concepts.

"For example, if skinny nice people share an answer key and fat mean people share an answer key, relatively vice versa, you have an implicit preference for skinny people over fat people if they can categorize words faster."

I run the test from time to time to see if anything has changed.

I love to keep an open mind.

Frequently asked questions about the test of bias

I have summarized some of them below.frequent questions, but if you have some time, go to the link and read in more detail. It is such an exciting and informative read.

• What is an attitude?

An attitude is your evaluation of a concept (such as a person, place, thing, or idea). An explicit attitude is the kind of attitude that you consciously think about and report on. For example, you can tell someone whether or not you like math. Implicit attitudes are positive and negative evaluations that are much less susceptible to our awareness and/or control.Even if you say you like math (your explicit attitude), you may associate math with negativity without even realizing it.In this case, we would say that your implicit attitude towards mathematics is negative.

• What are implicit and explicit stereotypes?

Stereotypes are the belief that most members of a group have certain characteristics. Some examples of stereotypes are believing that women care or believing that police officers like donuts. An implicit stereotype is relatively inaccessible to awareness and/or control.Even if you say that men and women are equally good at math, you are likely to associate math more strongly with men without being actively aware of it.

• Could my preference for one group over another be a simple group preference?

A simple group preference can partially explain the implicit bias.White respondents, most of whom show an implicit preference for whites.However, it is more than that: for example, around a third of black participants show an implicit preference for whites over blacks, which cannot be explained as group bias.Also, there are plenty of tests where people prefer one group over the other, even if they don't belong to either group.For example, Asian respondents tend to implicitly favor whites over blacks.

In that sense, the IAT can also reflect what is being learned from a culture that does not value blacks as much as whites.

voice of racism

In the context of uncovering our own biases (racism-related or otherwise), here's an unusual resource that does an excellent job of raising awareness about different types of racism.

is calledvoice of racismand is created by the New Zealand Human Rights Commission. It's quite a disturbing collection of"everyday racism felt by real people" in New Zealand.

Before entering the site, you will receive this notice.

Once you "enter the experience," you'll hear dozens of racial slurs and seemingly innocent comments from real people who shared them for the project.

It's quite a difficult experience, but it's worth listening to because there's a link to every sentence."Why is this racist?"

In fact, when I played it for some of my friends, that was the most frequently asked question. Some comments just didn't seem racist to those who had never experienced discrimination firsthand.

Here is a screenshot of an example. It's an amazing tool for raising awareness and filtering out ignorance.