Articulate the difference between implicit bias (also called unconscious bias) and explicit bias.
Articulate the difference between implicit bias (also called unconscious bias) and explicit bias.
Type of Service: Academic Writing
Work Type: Other : See paper instructions
Format: APA
Pages: 1 page – 275 words, Double spaced
Academic level: Undergrad. (yrs 1-2)
Discipline: Communications
Title: Writer’s choice
Number of sources: 0
Paper instructions:
Knowledge:
Articulate the difference between implicit bias (also called unconscious bias) and explicit bias.
Understand how implicit biases are formed by lived experiences and popular culture.
Skills:
Critical thinking on what cultural influences have either positively or negatively contributed to an individual’s implicit bias.
Tasks
Specific Resources Needed:
Information from: Charlotte Ruhl , published July 01, 2020 (presented here)
The term implicit bias was first coined back in 1995 by psychologists Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald, where they argued that social behavior is largely influenced by unconscious associations and judgments (Greenwald & Banaji, 1995). Specifically, implicit bias refers to attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious way, making them difficult to control. Since the mid-90s, psychologists have extensively researched implicit biases, revealing that, without even knowing it, we all possess our own implicit biases.
System 1 and System 2 Thinking
Kahneman (2011) distinguishes between two types of thinking: system 1 and system 2. System 1 is the brain’s fast, emotional, unconscious thinking mode. This type of thinking requires little effort, but it is often error prone. Most everyday activities (like driving, talking, cleaning, etc.) make heavy use of the type 1 system. The type 2 system is slow, logical, effortful, conscious thought, where reason dominates.
Implicit bias (also called unconscious bias) refers to attitudes and beliefs that occur outside of our conscious awareness and control. Implicit biases are an example of system 1 thinking, such that we are not even aware that they exist (Greenwald & Krieger, 2006). An implicit bias may run counter to a person’s conscious beliefs without them realizing it. For example, it is possible to express explicit liking of a certain social group or approval of a certain action, while simultaneously being biased against that group or action on an unconscious level.
Therefore, implicit biases and explicit biases might be different for the same person. It is important to understand that implicit biases can become an explicit bias. This occurs when you become consciously aware of the prejudices and beliefs you possess. That is, they surface in your conscious mind, leading you to choose whether to act on or against them.
What sets implicit biases apart from other forms of biases is the fact that they are subconscious – we don’t know if we have them. However, researchers have developed a tool, called the Implicit Association Test (IAT) that can help reveal such biases. The IAT requires participants to categorize negative and positive words together with either images or words (Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998). Tests are taken online and must be performed as quickly as possible, the faster you categorize certain words or faces of a category, the stronger the bias you hold about that category. Outside of lab testing, it is very difficult to know if we do, in fact, possess these biases. The fact that they are so hard to detect is in the very nature of this form of bias, making them very dangerous in various real world settings.
Steps to Complete the Task:
Go to Harvard Bias Tests and choose an implicit bias test.
In your journal post:
explain why you chose the specific implicit bias test,
what were the results,
and what cultural influences have either positively or negatively contributed to the results.
Your post should be a minimum of 500 words – remember, this is not a public forum; the content is between you and the instructor.
