Understand Implicit Bias

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Explain what implicit bias is and where it comes from.
  
• Describe how implicit bias impacts behavior.
  

What Is Bias and Where Does It Come From?

Most of us believe ourselves to be ethical and unbiased. In the workplace, we probably believe we’re good decision-makers, capable of objectively deciding about a job candidate or employee’s performance, and reaching a rational and fair conclusion about any particular business problem or situation. Yet it’s clear from more than 2 decades of research that we all have bias. In fact, to quote the Neuroleadership Institute, “If you have a brain, you have bias.”

Because we all have a unique identity, we each have a unique way of viewing the world. And, because we are human, we have certain biases. Simply put, bias is a preference either for or against something. Some people have a preference for coffee, others prefer tea, and some don’t care for either. Some people may prefer to curl up with a good book on the weekend, while others prefer going to the cinema or a concert or going out for a hike. We may enjoy many things in life, but some things we prefer more than others.

In some cases, we are fully aware of our biases (for example, we tend to know if we prefer coffee or tea, and why). However, there are times when we don’t realize we have a bias, at least not consciously. Implicit bias is a type of bias that happens at the unconscious level, meaning we don’t realize we have it or even recognize it when it shows up. Implicit bias is tricky in that it tends to influence our behaviors, or how we feel about something, without us thinking about it.

But why do we have biases? Well, it all has to do with how much information our brains can process at once. At any given moment, our brains are faced with more than 11 million pieces of information, according to Timothy Wilson, professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and author of the book, Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious.

You might find it even more surprising that the brain can only process about 40 of those bits of information at a time. So what does our brain do? It creates shortcuts and uses past knowledge to make assumptions about the things we see in the world around us so that it doesn’t have to process all of the information all of the time. This creates blind spots. Watch this short video to learn more.

It’s a natural process for our brains to take in information and register and categorize it as good or bad, comfortable or uncomfortable. It’s normal to have blind spots or biases. We all do. Yet as human beings, we have to build awareness of our biases—unconscious or not—because they can negatively and unfairly impact the people around us. We assume we are making sound, rational decisions, and our intent is generally good. Yet our unconscious brain is working against us, and we have to keep it in check.

Implicit Bias and Behavior

Biases aren’t as problematic when we are talking about our favorite foods or activities. It’s a different thing entirely when we talk about the ways our biases impact our interactions with other people, especially people whose identities may differ from our own. If left unchecked, biases can be dangerous, especially when they influence our behaviors toward other people or groups of people. Unchecked bias toward others can lead to discrimination, oppression, and other forms of marginalization. Marginalization is the treatment of a person or group as less than, insignificant, or unwelcome, or in a discriminatory manner, based on some aspect of their identity.

Researchers across the globe continue to show how various forms of bias lead to direct marginalization of underrepresented groups in the workplace.

• The Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, found that randomly assigning different names to resumes showed that job applicants with “white-sounding names” were more likely to be interviewed for open positions than were equally qualified applicants with “black-sounding names.”
  
• A recent study from the LedBy Foundation found that Muslim women face significant hiring bias for entry-level roles in India.
  

In a now-famous study called the Heidi/Howard Roizen case, researchers from Columbia’s Business School asked students to appraise the resume of an entrepreneur named Howard Roizen. He worked at Apple, launched his own software company, and had been a partner at a venture capital firm. He was a proficient networker and had very powerful friends, including Bill Gates. Colleagues described him as a “catalyst” and “captain of industry.” The students thought he would be an excellent person to have within a company because he was someone who got things done and was likable.

Interestingly enough, the same resume was evaluated by another group of students, only this time, it was in the name of Heidi Roizen. The result? The student appraisal of Heidi differed dramatically from their appraisal of Howard. They judged Heidi to be more selfish and less desirable than Howard, even though she was viewed as equally effective. About Howard, the evaluators said, “I’d like to meet him; he seems like a successful guy.” About Heidi, they said she seems “out for herself” and “aggressive.”

As human beings, we can critically think and analyze. In the workplace, it’s important for us to understand when we are relying on our impulses driven by implicit bias, and to challenge them—so that in the end we make more informed and rational decisions and don’t unintentionally exclude anyone.

If you are interested in learning more about implicit bias, check out Project Implicit, a nonprofit organization and international research collaborative dedicated to educating the public about biases.

Now that we understand a little more about what bias is and where it comes from, let’s explore the ways it can manifest in the workplace. That’s up next, so keep reading!