An implicit bias or implicit stereotype is the pre-reflective attribution of particular qualities by an individual to a member of some social out group. It is also called an unconscious bias that stems from a natural human tendency to divide the social world into groups. Implicit stereotypes are thought to be shaped by experience and based on learned associations between particular qualities and social categories, including race and/or gender. Individuals' perceptions and behaviors can be influenced by the implicit stereotypes they hold, even if they are sometimes unaware they hold such stereotypes. Implicit bias is an aspect of implicit social cognition: the phenomenon that perceptions, attitudes, and stereotypes can operate prior to conscious intention or endorsement. The existence of implicit bias is supported by a variety of scientific articles in psychological literature. The term implicit stereotype was first defined by psychologists Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald in 1995. Implicit stereotypes – unconscious associations held by individuals – can influence behavior even when they contradict consciously endorsed beliefs. This effect is particularly observable in real-world contexts such as judgments of fame and hiring processes. Organizations have implemented several evidence-based strategies to reduce implicit bias:
Blind recruitment processes that remove identifying information Standardized evaluation criteria for more objective assessment Structured interviews to minimize subjective judgments Implicit bias training programs (though their long-term efficacy remains debated) Explicit stereotypes, by contrast, are consciously endorsed, intentional, and sometimes controllable thoughts and beliefs. Implicit biases, however, are thought to be the product of associations that were learned through past experiences. Implicit biases can be activated by the environment and operate prior to a person's intentional, conscious endorsement. It has also been proposed that some implicit biases originate early in child development. Implicit bias can persist even when an individual rejects the bias explicitly.
Bias, attitude, stereotype and prejudice Attitudes, stereotypes, prejudices, and bias are all examples of psychological constructs. Psychological constructs are mental associations that can influence a person's behavior and feelings toward an individual or group. If the person is unaware of these mental associations the stereotypes, prejudices, or bias is said to be implicit. Bias is defined as prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair. Bias can be seen as the overarching definition of stereotype and prejudice, because it is how we associate traits (usually negative) to a specific group of people. Our "implicit attitudes reflect constant exposure to stereotypical portrayals of members of, and items in, all kinds of different categories: racial groups, professions, women, nationalities, members of the LGBTQ community, disabilities, moral and political values, etc." An attitude is an evaluative judgment of an object, a person, or a social group. An attitude is held by or characterizes a person. Implicit attitudes are evaluations that occur without conscious awareness towards an attitude object or the self. A stereotype is the association of a person or a social group with a consistent set of traits. This may include both positive and negative traits and often exaggerate differences between groups. Common types of stereotypes include, racial, cultural, gender and social group (such as those related to profession or age). Prejudice is defined as unfair negative attitude toward a social group or a member of that group. Prejudices can stem from many of the things that people observe in a different social group that include, but are not limited to, gender, sex, race/ethnicity, or religion. This is pertinent to stereotypes because a stereotype can influence the way people feel toward another group, hence prejudice.
Methods for investigation There is a clear challenge in measuring the degree to which someone is biased. There are two different forms of bias: implicit and explicit. The two forms of bias are, however, connected. "Explicit bias encompasses our conscious attitudes which can be measured by self-report, but pose the potential of individuals falsely endorsing more socially desirable attitudes. Although implicit biases have been considered unconscious and involuntary attitudes which lie below the surface of consciousness, some people seem to be aware of their influence on their behavior and cognitive processes. The implicit-association test (IAT) is one validated tool used to measure implicit bias. The IAT requires participants to rapidly pair two social groups with either positive or negative attributes." The Implicit Association Test (IAT) was created by Greenwald and Banaji (1995). The IAT measures how strongly people connect social groups such as gender or race with concepts like "good" or "bad". For example someone connecting "men" with career, it might show an implicit bias. Studies such as Nosek, Greenwald, and Banaji (2005) explore how hidden attitudes affect behavior and how people may have automatic biases even when they believe they are being fair.
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