Implicit Bias | Concepts Unwrapped

Summary

The video script delves into 'implicit bias', the unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that influence our perceptions and actions towards others. It highlights how these biases can affect various marginalized groups and even our own, often contradicting our conscious beliefs. The script discusses the prevalence of implicit bias in professional settings, such as healthcare and employment, and introduces the Implicit Association Test as a means to measure these biases. Despite criticism of the test's reliability, the script emphasizes the collective impact of implicit bias on societal behaviors. It concludes with the potential for unlearning stereotypes and implementing safeguards to minimize their effects, advocating for open dialogue and awareness to foster understanding and reduce bias.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Implicit bias is an unconscious attitude or stereotype that affects our perceptions and behaviors without our awareness.
• 🌐 It can manifest as negative stereotypes towards various marginalized groups, including racial, gender, and LGBTQ+ communities.
• 🔄 Implicit bias can even influence our own group, with people sometimes showing favoritism towards their in-group and prejudice against out-groups.
• 🌱 The development of implicit bias is shaped by personal experiences, upbringing, and cultural background.
• 🤔 Unconscious actions and behaviors towards others may reflect implicit biases, even if they are not intentionally discriminatory.
• 🏥 Examples of implicit bias include racial disparities in medical treatment, such as less pain medication prescribed for black patients.
• 🤝 People can hold explicit unbiased beliefs while still demonstrating implicit biases, as highlighted by psychologist Daniel Kelly.
• 📊 The Implicit Association Test (IAT) from Harvard University is a widely used tool to measure implicit biases.
• 📉 Criticisms of the IAT suggest that it may not consistently predict individual behavior, but it indicates group-level tendencies.
• 💼 Implicit bias can affect professional settings, such as hiring and promotions, leading to discrimination against certain groups.
• 🎼 Measures of implicit bias have been shown to better predict behavior than explicit bias, indicating its significant impact.
• 🛡️ While overcoming implicit bias is challenging, some strategies like blind auditions in orchestras have successfully reduced its influence.
• 🌟 Active listening and engaging with diverse experiences can help to unlearn stereotypes and shift biases.

Q & A

What is 'implicit bias'?

Implicit bias, also known as 'unconscious bias' or 'implicit social cognition,' refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that we unconsciously hold towards others, which can influence our actions and decisions without our conscious awareness.

How does implicit bias manifest in society?

Implicit bias can manifest in various ways, such as in the workplace, education, and healthcare. For example, studies have shown that doctors tend to recommend less pain medication for black patients than for white patients with identical injuries, indicating a racial bias.

Can implicit bias affect one's own group?

Yes, implicit bias can affect one's own group. People may harbor negative stereotypes about their own group, although they generally tend to favor their in-group with positive stereotypes and disfavor out-groups.

What role does upbringing play in shaping implicit bias?

Upbringing plays a significant role in shaping implicit bias as it is influenced by the experiences and environment one grows up in, including the region and country of origin, which can shape an individual's unconscious attitudes towards others.

How can implicit bias be recognized in everyday interactions?

Implicit bias can be recognized in everyday interactions through immediate feelings or thoughts about a person, such as assumptions based on their appearance or behavior, which may stem from one's own experiences or upbringing.

What is the relationship between implicit bias and conscious beliefs?

Implicit bias often runs counter to people's conscious, expressed beliefs. A person can explicitly hold unbiased views but still exhibit implicit bias in their actions or decisions.

What is the Implicit Association Test (IAT)?

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a tool developed by Harvard University's Project Implicit. It measures implicit biases by asking individuals to rapidly associate certain groups, such as racial or gender groups, with positive or negative words.

How reliable is the IAT in predicting individual behavior?

The IAT has been criticized for its reliability in predicting individual behavior, as scores can vary significantly when taken on different dates. However, it can indicate trends in how groups of people act on average.

What evidence suggests that implicit bias can be overcome?

Research shows that stereotypes can be unlearned and that safeguards, such as blind auditions in orchestras, can minimize the impact of implicit bias. Blind auditions led to a significant increase in the percentage of women chosen to play in symphony orchestras.

How can individuals work to reduce the impact of implicit bias?

Individuals can work to reduce the impact of implicit bias by engaging in conversations with people from diverse backgrounds, learning about their experiences, and being open to feedback on their own biases.

What are some real-world examples of implicit bias in action?

Examples include white applicants receiving more responses from potential employers than black applicants with the same resume, college professors being more likely to answer emails from students with names that suggest they are white, and online course instructors responding more to white male students in discussion forums.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Unconscious Attitudes: Understanding Implicit Bias

The first paragraph delves into the concept of 'implicit bias,' which refers to the unconscious attitudes and stereotypes we hold towards others. It explains how these biases can affect our perceptions and actions without our conscious awareness, often contradicting our expressed beliefs. The paragraph provides examples of implicit bias in various contexts, such as racial disparities in medical treatment and workplace biases against certain groups. It also introduces the Implicit Association Test (IAT) from Harvard University as a tool for measuring implicit biases and discusses the prevalence of these biases in society. The paragraph concludes by highlighting the challenges in overcoming implicit bias and the need for awareness and action to mitigate its effects.

05:03

🎭 Overcoming Implicit Bias: Strategies and Insights

The second paragraph focuses on the challenges and potential solutions for addressing implicit bias. It discusses the difficulty of overcoming biases that operate at an unconscious level and notes that no training regime has been proven entirely effective in de-biasing. However, the paragraph offers hope by presenting evidence that stereotypes can be unlearned and that certain measures, such as blind auditions in orchestras, have successfully increased diversity. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of open dialogue, learning from others' experiences, and actively seeking to understand and challenge one's own biases. It concludes by encouraging individuals to engage in conversations that promote understanding and to take steps to recognize and reduce the impact of implicit bias in their lives.

Keywords

💡Implicit Bias

Implicit bias, also known as unconscious bias, refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding and actions without our conscious knowledge. It is a central theme of the video, illustrating how these biases can influence behavior and decisions, even when they contradict our conscious beliefs. For example, the script mentions that doctors may recommend less pain medication for black patients, despite not holding consciously discriminatory views.

💡Stereotypes

Stereotypes are oversimplified and generalized beliefs about a group of people. In the context of the video, stereotypes are shown as a key component of implicit bias, shaping our unconscious attitudes towards different racial, gender, or social groups. The video gives an example of the stereotype that 'Asians are better at math and science,' which can lead to biased behavior in group projects.

💡Marginalized Groups

Marginalized groups are those who are pushed to the periphery of a society and often suffer from discrimination. The video discusses how implicit bias can affect these groups, such as racial minorities and the LGBTQ community, by influencing the attitudes and actions of others towards them, often in an unconscious manner.

💡In-Group Favoritism

In-group favoritism is the tendency to favor members of one's own group over those of other groups. The video explains that people often favor their in-group with positive stereotypes while disfavoring out-groups. This concept is integral to understanding how implicit bias can lead to unequal treatment based on group membership.

💡Unconscious Cognition

Unconscious cognition refers to mental processes that occur without conscious awareness. The video emphasizes that implicit bias operates at this level, affecting our reactions and judgments without us realizing it. This is crucial for understanding why people can have biases they are not consciously aware of.

💡Project Implicit

Project Implicit is a research project based at Harvard University that focuses on implicit bias. The video mentions the Implicit Association Test (IAT) from this project, which has been taken by millions to measure implicit biases. It serves as a tool to demonstrate the prevalence of implicit bias in society.

💡Implicit Association Test (IAT)

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a tool used to measure implicit biases by testing how quickly individuals associate different groups with positive or negative words. The video uses the IAT as evidence of widespread implicit bias and its potential impact on behavior.

💡Racial Bias

Racial bias refers to prejudice or discrimination based on race. The video discusses studies showing racial bias against certain groups, such as the tendency for white subjects to more easily associate white faces with positive words, indicating an implicit racial bias.

💡Discrimination

Discrimination is the unfair treatment of people based on their membership in a certain group. The video provides examples of how implicit bias can lead to discrimination in various settings, such as hiring practices and responses to student emails, even when people do not consciously advocate for it.

💡Blind Auditions

Blind auditions are a method used to reduce bias by concealing the identity of the performer from the judges. The video cites the example of orchestras using blind auditions, which led to a significant increase in the selection of female musicians, demonstrating a practical way to mitigate the impact of implicit bias.

💡De-biasing

De-biasing refers to the process of reducing or eliminating biases. The video mentions that while no training regime has proven entirely effective at de-biasing implicit bias, there is evidence that stereotypes can be unlearned and safeguards can be implemented to minimize their impact.

💡Cohesive Trust

Cohesive trust is the mutual trust within a group that is necessary for effective collaboration and unity. The video discusses how implicit bias can hinder the development of cohesive trust, as seen in the experience of a Latino officer in a predominantly non-Latino officer group.

Highlights

Implicit bias is an unconscious attitude or stereotype that can affect our interactions with others.

Implicit bias can manifest as negative stereotypes without conscious awareness.

Also known as 'unconscious bias' or 'implicit social cognition', it is a deep-rooted prejudice.

Studies show implicit bias against various marginalized groups including racial and gender biases.

People may be prejudiced against their own group, but typically favor their in-group.

Implicit bias is influenced by personal experiences and upbringing, shaping one's unconscious attitudes.

Actions and treatment of others may reflect implicit biases without conscious intent.

Implicit bias can contradict conscious beliefs, as seen in medical treatment disparities.

People can be explicitly unbiased but still hold implicit biases, as research by Daniel Kelly suggests.

Implicit bias is evident in stereotypes about certain racial groups being better at specific subjects.

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) from Harvard University is a widely used tool to measure implicit bias.

Implicit biases can be positive, such as those associated with being a white male with certain attributes.

Research indicates that implicit bias measures better predict behavior than explicit bias measures.

Implicit bias can affect hiring practices and academic interactions, as seen in response rates to resumes and emails.

Implicit bias can hinder trust and cohesion within organizations, impacting performance.

Overcoming implicit bias is challenging due to its unconscious nature, and no training has proven fully effective.

Stereotypes can be unlearned, and safeguards like blind auditions in orchestras have increased diversity.

Engaging in conversations and learning from diverse experiences can help shift implicit biases.

There is potential to reduce the impact of implicit bias through awareness and proactive measures.

Transcripts

“Implicit bias” exists when we unconsciously hold attitudes towards others

or associate stereotypes with them.

For example, we often harbor negative stereotypes about others

without consciously realizing that we do so.

Implicit bias, which is also called “unconscious bias” or “implicit social cognition,”

is a prejudice that is deep-seated within the brain, below the conscious level.

Studies have demonstrated implicit bias against racial groups, genders, LGBTQ,

and other marginalized groups.

We may even be prejudiced against our own group, although we tend to favor our in-group

with positive stereotypes and disfavor out-groups with negative stereotypes.

The immediate feeling you get, or the immediate thoughts you have about a person... an assumption,

just anything you feel really stems somewhere from an experience you've had or your upbringing

Depends on the region you're from, the country you're from, the background you grew up in

that shapes the person's unconscious bias.

I think sometimes you don't even realize it but your own actions, maybe the way you treat others

as opposed to treating others that look like you, or that act like you, or that are your friends.

Implicit bias often runs counter to people’s conscious, expressed beliefs.

Few physicians espouse racially discriminatory views, and yet doctors tend to recommend less

pain medication for black patients than for white patients with the identical injury.

In other words, people can be explicitly unbiased, yet implicitly biased, according to psychologist

Daniel Kelly and colleagues.

One of my closest friends since high school, we've worked on a lot of projects together,

we've been in a lot of classes together.

Sometimes we'd be working together in a group project for example and she would say stuff like

"Oh, you're good at math, you're good at science, here you can take this part of the project or something."

I don't hold it against her or anything, she doesn't mean any harm by it.

But obviously there's that implicit bias or stereotype that Asians are better at math and science.

Implicit bias has been found in a large array of studies using various tests, but much of

the evidence for the phenomenon comes from Harvard University’s Project Implicit website,

home of the Implicit Association Test , or the IAT.

Literally millions of people have visited this site and taken various tests that ask

them to respond rapidly to questions that require them to associate blacks or whites,

males or females, or young or old, etc., with positive or negative words.

Most of the implicit biases that I've run into are probably positive ones.

Things that come with being a white male and having height and having a good voice and things like that.

Professor Nosek and colleagues tested more than 700,000 subjects and found that more

than 70% of white subjects more easily associated white faces with positive words

and black faces with negative words, concluding that this was evidence of implicit racial bias.

In fact, additional evidence indicates that measures of implicit bias better predict people’s conduct

than measures of explicit bias.

I think that if you are anyone, to be blunt, that is not a white male, you potentially feel that implicit bias.

Maybe you're just looking for someone that is like you because you like you

and so you want be around more people like you,

but what's really rooted under that is that you potentially don't think that someone else is as smart or as capable

and that is coming from a place of implicit bias.

Now here's some good news.

Various scientists have criticized the IAT.

They point out, for example, that individuals who take the test on different dates often

score substantially differently.

Even IAT supporters admit that implicit bias, at least as demonstrated by the test, is widespread

but relatively minor and has only a small impact upon people’s real-world actions.

In other words, the results of the test are not strong enough to predict particular behaviors

by individual people.

However, let’s not get too comfortable.

Even if the IAT cannot predict the future conduct of any one individual on a given occasion,

it still indicates how groups of people will act on average, and that is worrisome.

For example, few people openly advocate for discrimination in hiring, but white applicants

receive 50% more responses from potential employers than do black applicants with the same resume.

Likewise, college professors are substantially more likely to answer student e-mails if the

students’ names indicate that they are probably white than if the names sound like

they belong to black students.

And in one study online course instructors were 94% more likely to respond to discussion

posts by white male students than by other students.

There are a lot of opportunities to promote people within the workplace.

It doesn't happen because of different biases.

People assume, you know, a woman is of a certain age or they're married and you think

"oh she's gonna wanna have kids" so we're not gonna give her this really tough big project.

When I graduated from West Point in 2009, I went to my first organization, the first unit assignment.

I was the only Latino officer in a group of about 100 other officers.

Yeah, I think there was a lot of hesitation in really following my lead as a leader for the organization.

I think it hindered in some way like the ability for us to build cohesive trust within our organization

and really have that going into a combat environment.

Because implicit bias operates at a mostly unconscious level, it is difficult for individuals to overcome.

No existing training regime has proven particularly effective at de-biasing implicit bias.

But, fortunately, some research shows that stereotypes can be unlearned and that safeguards

can be put in place to minimize their impact.

For example, women used to make up only a relatively small percentage of the musicians in orchestras.

But when orchestras began holding blind auditions where the applicants played behind a curtain

and their genders were unknown to the judges, the percentage of women chosen to play in

symphony orchestras doubled.

Perhaps we can put a dent in implicit bias after all.

These biases are sometime so deep rooted within us or within our culture

that we don't even realize that they are biases.

We can have a mutually beneficial conversation and really benefit from learning from each other

and really understanding that we're not all that different.

Listen. Really absorb the experiences of those around you,

especially those who come from backgrounds that are unlike yours.

Learn something new about a person, and then that will kind of help shift that bias

because now you've actually asked that person or now you get to know that person.

There's so many opportunities to engage with others, to say I don't want to do this again,

can you help me not do that? And people are willing to have those conversations.