Implicit Bias

Everyone holds unexamined stereotypes and prejudices that are beyond their conscious awareness, typically called “implicit bias”.

This concept arose in the field of cognitive psychology, a field which examines all internal functioning of the brain. Implicit bias explores the conscious and unconscious attitudes, beliefs and responses held by human beings. There is now a wealth of  materials on explicit and implicit bias, including strategies to address implicit bias. Some are outlined here.

Examining implicit bias is a core component of reflective practice. Implicit bias impacts relationships with clients, colleagues, the bench, and all others in a placement context. As discussed below, implicit bias can also be made explicit through the adoption of implicit bias into policy. Deepening one’s critical reflection skills will support good advocacy on both individual and systemic levels.

Professor Jerry Kang’s “Immaculate Perception” video, below, also examines implicit and explicit bias.

What is the Difference between Explicit Bias and Implicit Bias?

Human beings often operate using schemas that categories experience in order to make it understandable, and to learn from that experience. These schemas can operate to categorize human beings in both helpful and unhelpful ways. Explicit bias is most often associated with overt discriminatory statements. Implicit bias are often associated with unexamined views that have biased outcomes but without animus. While the line between implicit and explicit views seems clear, an implicit bias can become explicit relatively easily.

Through reflective practice, one’s implicit and explicit biases can be better examined. Dushaw Hockett, founder and Director of Safe Places for the Advancement of Community and Equity (SPACEs), talks about addressing implicit bias and aligning explicitly held beliefs with implicitly held beliefs.

As Hockett notes, with practice we can begin noticing bias and then begin addressing it. This relies on skills of self-reflection.

This PBS video featuring Professor Dolly Chugh demonstrates how implicit bias can impact who professors respond to regarding admission to a PhD program. Professor Chugh suggests the Harvard Implicit Bias test (below) and a “self audit” as useful ways to start combating one’s own implicit bias.

One of the most common and accessible methods to test one’s implicit bias is through the Harvard Implicit Association Test (IAT), mentioned in the video above, is often used as a starting point to discuss implicit bias. Over the past 15 years, the data gathered from the IAT has been used to demonstrate both expected and unexpected data about people’s implicit biases, including biases held about members in one’s own identity group(s). Try a few of the implicit bias tests. Note that any data collected for the project is anonymous.