Implicit Biases:
Implicit biases are unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that influence our perceptions, decisions, and actions without us being aware of them. These biases are often automatic and develop over time from experiences, media exposure, cultural norms, and social conditioning.
Key Features:
- Unconscious: People may genuinely believe they are unbiased, yet still act in biased ways.
- Pervasive: Everyone has them, regardless of background.
- Influential: They can affect behavior in hiring, healthcare, education, policing, and daily interactions.
- Contradict explicit beliefs: A person may consciously support equality but still hold negative implicit stereotypes.
Examples of Implicit Bias:
- A teacher may call on boys more often in math class without realizing it.
- A doctor might spend less time with patients of certain racial backgrounds.
- An employer may favor resumes with “white-sounding” names over “ethnic-sounding” ones.
Common Types:
- Racial and ethnic bias
- Gender bias
- Age bias
- Weight bias
- Sexual orientation bias
- Disability bias
How It’s Measured:
One of the most common tools is the Implicit Association Test (IAT), which measures reaction times to see how strongly people associate concepts (like race or gender) with positive or negative words.
Addressing Implicit Bias:
- Self-awareness: Learn about your own biases (e.g., through the IAT).
- Perspective-taking: Put yourself in others’ shoes.
- Exposure to counter-stereotypical examples.
- Slow down decision-making: Avoid snap judgments.
- Organizational changes: Implement bias-reducing policies and practices.
Shervan K Shahhian
LIBERTY PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION 