Is it possible to overcome implicit bias? (2023)

An implicit bias is an association, belief, orattitudefor each social group. Implicit biases are one of the reasons people often ascribe certain qualities or traits to all members of a particular group, a phenomenon known asStereotype.

It is important to remember that implicit bias acts almost exclusively on aunconscious level. While explicit bias and bias are intentional and controllable, implicit bias is less so.

A person may even express their explicit disagreement with a particular attitude or belief while still harboring similar prejudices at a more unconscious level. Such prejudices do not necessarily coincide with ours.sense of selfand personal identity. People can also have positive or negative associations with their own race, gender, religion, sexuality, or other personal characteristics.

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Causes of implicit bias

While people would like to believe that they are not susceptible to these implicit biases and stereotypes, the reality is that everyone engages in them whether they want to or not. However, this reality does not mean that you are necessarily prejudiced or inclined to discriminate against other people. It simply means that your brain works in such a way that associations and generalizations are made.

Aside from being influenced by our environment and the stereotypes of the society we were born into, it is often impossible to separate ourselves from society's influence.

It is the brain's natural tendency to filter, sort, and categorize information about the world that leads to the formation of these implicit biases. Because of these prejudices, we are prone to prejudice:

• We tend to look for patterns. Implicit bias occurs because of the brain's natural tendency to look for patterns and associations in the world.social perception, or our ability to store, process, and apply information about people in social situations, depends on this ability to form associations about the world.
• We like to take shortcuts. with the othercognitive biasImplicit bias is the result of the brain's tendency to try to simplify the world. Because the brain is constantly being inundated with more information than it can handle, mental shortcuts make it quick and easy for the brain to sort through all that data.
• Our experiences and our social conditioning play a role.. Implicit biases are influenced by experience, although these attitudes may not be the result of direct personal experience. Cultural conditioning, media representations, and education can all contribute to the implicit associations people form about members of other social groups.

How is implied bias measured?

The term implicit bias was first coined in 1995 by social psychologists Mahzarin Banaji and Tony Greenwald. In an influential article presenting their theory of implicit social cognition, they proposed that social behavior is largely influenced by unconscious associations and judgments.

In 1998, Banaji and Greenwald published their now-famous Implicit Association Test (IAT) to support theirshypothesis. The test uses a computer program to show respondents a series of pictures and words to determine how long it takes for someone to choose between two things.

For example, subjects may see images of faces of different races along with a positive or negative word. Participants would be asked to click on a positive word when they saw a picture of someone of one race and on a negative word when they saw someone of a different race.

In addition to a test of implicit racial attitudes, the IAT has also been used to measure unconscious biases related to gender, weight, sexuality, disability, and other domains.The IAT has grown in popularity and use over the past decade, but has recently come under fire.

The main criticisms include the possible lack of knowledge from the test results.reliability. Respondents can score high on one test and low on the next test because of racial bias.

It is also worrying that the test results do not necessarily correlate with individual behavior. People can score high on the IAT for one type of bias, but these scores may not accurately predict how they would relate to members of a particular social group.

Link between implicit bias and discrimination

It is important to understand that although the two concepts are related, implicit prejudice is not the same as racism. Overt racism involves conscious prejudice against members of a particular racial group and can be influenced by both explicit and implicit prejudice.

Being aware of the potential impact of implicit social biases will allow you to play a more active role in overcoming social stereotypes, discrimination and prejudice, among other things.

Implicit bias effects

Implicit prejudices can influence people's behavior towards members of different social groups. Researchers found that this bias can impact multiple attitudes, including school, work, and court proceedings.

Implicit prejudices in school

Implicit bias can lead to a phenomenon known asthe danger of stereotypesin which people internalize negative stereotypes about themselves because of group associations. For example, research has shown that girls often internalize implicit attitudes related to gender and math achievement.

At age 9, the girls were shown to exhibit unconscious beliefs that women prefer language over math. The stronger these implicit beliefs are, the less likely girls and women are to study mathematics in school. It is also believed that these unconscious beliefs play a role in preventing women from pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Studies have also shown that implicit attitudes can also affect how teachers respond to student behavior, suggesting that implicit biases can have a powerful impact on access to education and academic performance.

Implicit biases in the workplace

Although the implicit attitude test itself can have difficulties, these problems do not negate the existence of implicit bias. Or the existence and effects of bias, prejudice and discrimination in the real world. Such prejudice can have very real and potentially devastating consequences.

For example, one study found that black and white candidates who sent similar resumes to employers were half as likely to be interviewed as white candidates with the same qualifications.

Even as employers work to eliminate potential hiring biases, subtle underlying biases can still influence how people are selected for jobs or promoted to leadership positions.It can be difficult to avoid these biases entirely, but being aware of their existence and making an effort to minimize them can be helpful.

Implicit bias in healthcare

Certainly, age, race, or medical condition should play no part in the treatment of patients; However, implicit biases can affect the quality of care and have long-term effects, including suboptimal care, adverse outcomes, and even death.

For example, a study published inAmerican Journal of Public Healthfound that physicians with high levels of implicit bias tended to dominate conversations with Black patients, and as a result, Black patients had less trust in the provider and rated the quality of their care as lower.

Researchers continue to examine implicit biases toward other ethnic groups and certain health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, mental health and substance use disorders.

Implicit prejudices in legal contexts

Implicit bias can also have problematic implications for judicial processes, affecting everything from initial contact with the police to sentencing. The survey found that there are large racial differences in how black defendants are treated in criminal convictions.

Strategies to reduce the impact of implicit bias

Implicit biases affect behavior, but there are things you can do to reduce your own biases. Some ways to reduce the impact of implicit bias:

• Focus on seeing people as individuals.. Instead of focusing on stereotypes to define people, spend time looking at them on a more personal and individual level.
• Work on consciously changing your stereotypes. When you realize that your reaction to a person may be based on prejudice or stereotypes, make an effort to consciously adjust your reaction.
• Take time to stop and think. To reduce knee-jerk reactions, take time to think about possible biases and replace them with positive examples from the stereotypical group.
• adjust your perspective. Try to see things from someone else's point of view. How would you react if you were in the same situation? What factors can contribute to how a person behaves in a particular environment or situation?
• Increase your exposure. Spend time with people of different races. Learn about your culture by attending community events or exhibitions.
• practice mindfulness. Try meditation, yoga, or focused breathing to increase mindfulness and become more aware of your thoughts and actions.

A word from Verywell

Implicit biases can be unsettling, but they're also a ubiquitous part of life. Perhaps most troubling, your unconscious attitudes do not necessarily align with your stated beliefs. While people are more likely to have implicit biases favoring their own group, it's not uncommon for people to also have biases against their own social group.

The good news is that these implicit biases are not immutable. Even if you have unconscious prejudices against other groups of people, it is possible to adopt new attitudes even on an unconscious level. This process isn't necessarily quick or easy, but being aware of these biases is a good start to making a difference.