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Tequila Robinson

April 6, 2017

UWRT 1104

Professor Malcolm Campbell

Were All Bigots: A Look at Implicit Bias

Mahzarin Banaji is not someone you would expect to be bigoted. She is a member of an

ethnic minority and a psychology professor at Yale University who studies stereotypes for a

living. She knows what it feels like to be discriminated against. However, when she took a test of

bias of her design, the results showed she had very strong prejudices (Paul). The test had

revealed her implicit biases. Past theories of stereotypes were concerned only with the explicit

behavior attached to them: explicit racism, sexism, ageism, et cetera. However, as researchers

began to explore the unconscious realm, it was discovered that everyone holds unconscious, or

implicit biaseseven if not aware of them. Disconcerting to many, the presence of such biases

leads one to wonder about the nature of implicit bias and the importance of recognizing it.

Implicit bias refers to how attitudes or stereotypes affect a persons behavior without a

conscious awareness of it. A form of implicit social cognition, it is unconscious and relatively

automatic. Most of the time when the topic of bias or prejudice is presented, the discussion

usually surrounds openly bigoted behaviorthat behavior is an example of explicit bias. Much

of the research that falls under the umbrella term implicit social cognition emphasizes the

differences between implicit and explicit attitudes. Although related, implicit and explicit biases

are two distinct constructs. As stated in the Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology, implicit

cognitive processes are involuntarily activated, and explicit processes are conscious, deliberative,

and controllable (176). In their article on implicit social cognition, Banaji and Greenwald stated
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findings of discrimination by people who actively reject prejudice is consistent with the presence

of implicit bias (Banaji 1996). It is important to understand implicit bias so that unintentional

discrimination can be minimized.

Research in the field of implicit social cognition is relatively new compared to other

research dealing with prejudice. While Gordon Allports (1954) The Nature of Prejudice is

considered the standard work on prejudice and discrimination, the study of implicit social

cognition has two more recent waves of research are credited as the inspiration for further study.

The first stems from the 1970s, when cognitive psychologists made the distinction between

controlled and automatic information processing. Controlled processing was thought to be

voluntary and of limited capacity, and automatic processing was believed to occur without

awareness of it and to be hard to suppress (Brownstein). The second wave of research was

focused on the ideas of consciousness and unconsciousness. These studies demonstrated that it

was possible to have unconscious (or implicit) attitudes towards certain groups that were

different from your conscious (or explicit) behaviors and attitudes. Greenwald and Banaji

defined implicit attitudes as introspectively unidentified (or inaccurately identified) traces of

past experience that mediate favorable or unfavorable feeling, thought, or action toward social

objects (Wikipedia). Research findings in implicit bias support many researchers who believe

that modern prejudice has become secret in practice. However, the idea of implicit bias is

somewhat controversial and has drawn many critics over the ambiguous definition and

measurement validity of implicit bias (Brownstein).

One of the main recipients of criticism in implicit bias research is the Implicit Association

Test. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is the most popular measurement tool of implicit bias.

It is so popular that it has caught the attention of the general public. The IAT has been written
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about in newspapers, as well as featured on television and radio, which has led to more than 5

million visits to its official website (Azar). The Implicit Association Test was introduced in 1998

by Anthony Greenwald, Debbie McGhee, and Jordan Schwartz. Implicit bias stems from the idea

that there are memories which influence our attitudes and associations of which we are unaware.

Researchers believed that previous explicit self-report measures would be inadequate because of

that lack of awareness and because of social-desirability bias which describes the tendency of

survey takers to answer questions in a way they believe will look best to others (Paulhus). The

IAT is a computer-based test that requires takers to rapidly categorize two concepts with an

attribute, such that faster responses are interpreted as more strongly associated in memory than

slower pairings (Banaji, Greenwald, Nosek, 2005). One of the largest critics of the measure is

psychologist Hart Blanton of Texas A&M University who worries the IAT has become somewhat

of a fad without having the proper psychometric assessments to ensure validity and reliability.

He and many others argue the scoring of the test is arbitrary and unreliable. The test is scored on

a scale of -2.0 to 2.0. Anything above 0.65 or below -0.65 indicates a strong link. No current

studies show that people who score above and below the cutoff differ in any way based on their

scores (Azar). Other critics of the IAT believe the website should not provide feedback as the test

is very sensitive to the social environment it is taken in, and many test takers scores change from

one test to another. Project Implicit, the non-profit organization which hosts the IAT, has the

following disclaimer on the landing page of the test,

In reporting to you results of any IAT test that you take, we will mention possible

interpretations that have a basis in research done (at the University of Washington,

University of Virginia, Harvard University, and Yale University) with these tests.

However, these Universities, as well as the individual researchers who have

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contributed to this site, make no claim for the validity of these suggested

interpretations. (Project Implicit)

Being one of the main and most popular measures of implicit bias, there is overall much that

needs to be done regarding the examination of the psychometric properties of the IAT as

recognizing our implicit biases is the first step to being able to combat them.

The importance of recognizing and understanding our implicit biases lies in how it can

affect our behavior. We can be actively committed to equity and consciously work to behave

without bias, yet still have negative implicit biases that affect our actions (Southern Poverty Law

Center). Our implicit biases may affect split-second decisions that may harm other people,

physically, emotionally, and mentally. Implicit bias was brought to public debate after the series

of police shootings of unarmed Black men across the country. Many believe that implicit bias

plays a role in the decision of police officers to use deadly force against black suspects compared

to white suspects (Blake). A study by researchers at Washington State University showed that 96

percent of officers unconsciously associated Black Americans with weapons. A study in Vermont

showed that police officers are significantly more likely to stop, search, and arrest Black and

Hispanic drivers, compared to White drivers, but White drivers are more likely to be found with

illegal contraband (Pederson). It is no surprise that implicit bias exists within law enforcement,

as it exists in everyone. It is important for people to become aware of their implicit biases so that

those attitudes can begin to change. However, since implicit bias is unconscious in nature, it begs

the question of whether we should be held responsible for it at all.

It has been argued that since people are not aware of their implicitly biases, they should

not be held responsible for their implicitly biased actions. However, it is not clear whether lack

of awareness is enough to absolve someone of responsibility (Holroyd). This has been the subject
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of interest of many who study moral responsibility. Jules Holroyd is one who is interested in the

meaning of responsibility when it comes to implicitly biased actions. Holroyd states, to say that

the agent is blameworthy, then, is to say that they have intentionally done something that

violated a moral standard that we expected them to maintain. To have intentionally committed a

morally irresponsible act requires awareness. Some who have addressed the question of

responsibility for implicitly biased actions have argued that individuals cannot be expected to be

aware of their implicit biases, so they are not responsible for actions influenced by these biases

(Saul, 2013). However, Holroyd theorizes that there is more than one level of awareness that

affects the debate.

The first level of awareness Holroyd delineates in her research on implicit bias is

introspective awareness. This level awareness is that may come about simply by reflecting on

ones internal states and processes. In her research, Holroyd states, one might have introspective

awareness with respect to whether certain beliefs or feelings are playing a role in ones

decisions. The second level of awareness is inferential awareness. This concerns that awareness

reached through inferences made by learning about the existence of implicit biases and ones

own patterns of behavior in relation to that. The third level of awareness is observational

awareness which occurs when individuals are aware of their discriminatory or prejudiced

behavior outputs as they occur by way of observation. (Holroyd). These tentative distinctions of

awareness are great beginnings in terms of understanding whether individuals should be held

morally responsible for their morally irresponsible, implicitly biased behaviors. With the new

psychological field of mindfulness becoming more popular, it is feasible that introspective

awareness, in combination with the other levels of awareness, is available as rationale for the

responsibility of ones implicitly biased actions. Mindfulness involves the awareness of ones
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thoughts, feelings, internal environment, and external environment in the present moment, and

the construct may be viewed almost as a synonym for introspective awareness.

Regardless of moral responsibility or lack thereof, implicit biases are malleable (Kirwan

Institute). They can be and should be attempted to unlearned. Having implicit biases does not

make you a bad person, as they are normal and some may even be positive, however many of

these biases are negative and unwanted. Neil Franklin in The New York Times Room for Debate

series states,

The key isnt to feel guilty about our [implicit] biasesguilt tends towards inaction. Its

to become consciously aware of them, minimize them to the greatest extent possible, and

constantly check in with ourselves to ensure we are acting based on a rational

assessment of the situation rather than on stereotypes and prejudice. (Kirwan Institute)

There have been many studies on ways to reduce bias. An effective strategy for reducing implicit

bias is training to increase ones ability to distinguish different objects from another. Known as

individuation training, its use as a tool for reducing bias is based on the theoretical belief that

childrens perceptual representations of faces can be influenced by social information (Xiao).

Another strategy is intergroup contact (Kirwan Institute). A study was done where 115

predominately White elementary students belonging to the middle socioeconomic class were

tutored by 24 Black middle school students mostly of the lower class. The mentoring/tutoring

program had an emphasis on interracial exposure and cultural learning, so the elementary school

students were read books featuring important African American figures daily. Results from

Implicit Association Tests showed that those who displayed pro-White bias disappeared (Kirwan

Institute). Taking action to mitigate implicit biases will help to prevent negative impacts in areas
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the health care, criminal justice, education, employment, housing, and societal interaction in

general.

The discovery of implicit bias has led several institutions to begin using Implicit

Association Tests. Several health care organizations have administering IATs and significant pro-

White bias has been found. Implicit bias is not limited to race though. IATs can test for bias

concerning gender, race, socioeconomic class, age, and more social and biological constructs.

Participants at an obesity conference implicitly associated obese people with modifiers such as

bad, stupid, lazy, and worthless. Women are three times less likely than men to receive knee

anthroplasty when clinically appropriate. Differences in decision-making of health practitioners,

though unintentional, could lead to failures in patient care (The Joint Commission).

Consequences of implicit bias in housing are abundant as well. Many areas are resistant

to building affordable housing in high opportunity suburban areas (Rudd). Frequently,

affordable housing is situated in racially segregated communities with low-performing schools,

high unemployment rates and high crime rates. There is even evidence that suggests many

African American borrowers are targeted for risky, high-interest loans even when their credit

histories would have qualified them for more conventional mortgage loans (Rudd).

Job hunters have to deal with implicit bias even from employers claiming to be equal

opportunity. In 2003, researchers found that job applicants with White sounding names received

50 percent more callbacks for interview than applicants with Black sounding names (Bertrand).

Results of a study conducted by Northwestern University sociologist Devah Pager found that

White job applicants with a criminal record were more likely than Black applicants without a

criminal record to be invited to a job interview. In 2010, the United States Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission revealed that private sector workplace discrimination charge filings
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amounted to 99,922 (Rudd).

In education, it has been found that implicit racial bias among teachers lowers

expectations of students of color and begets subtle differences in the way teachers behave toward

these studentsfor example, more discipline as opposed to praise. Since Brown v. Board of

Education, mass numbers of white families have moved from metropolitan school districts to

avoid school and neighborhood integration. By 1991, the proportion of African American

students attending intensely segregated schools returned to the same level as in 1971, when the

Supreme Court issued its first school desegregation busing law (Kirwan Institute). Implicit bias

has negatively affected society in ways that we thought we had already combatted and corrected.

If people become aware of their implicit biases, they can monitor and attempt to change

their implicit attitudes before they result in discriminatory behavior. As changes in behavior can

modify beliefs and attitudes, it may be seen as logical that a conscious decision to be non-

prejudiced and equitable might lead to the dissipation of implicit biases. The impact of implicit

bias on institutions such as healthcare, education, and criminal justice is disheartening and leads

one to push further for the understanding of the presence of implicit bias. Overall, further

research needs to be done to find reliable ways to measure implicit bias and to find ways to

combat the subconscious control of our conscious mind.

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