“Fortunately for serious minds, a bias recognized is a bias sterilized.” – Benjamin Haydon***
Unconscious bias, also referred to as implicit bias, is often defined as prejudice or unsupported judgments we have accumulated in life that are in favor of or against a person, or group, that are usually considered unfair because they can affect our decision making. Note the term implicit bias denotes the reality that the prejudice is hidden.
Everyone has biases. A bias can be positive or negative. If I believe that every tall African American man is a basketball player, that’s a bias. If I believe that every Asian man is a physician, that’s a bias. If I believe every African American female is aggressive and smart mouthed, that’s a bias. If I believe every white man in a suit is an executive, that’s a bias.
Biases can be based on race as well as some other dimension of difference. It could be based on gender, size, age, socio-economic status and more. The real issue when it comes to these mindsets, particularly race, is how deep are our biased thoughts and to what degree do we allow our biases to control our actions?
The Impact of Our Biases
Our biased thinking can cause us to have raised expectations of one group, while lowering expectations of another. It can cause us to call certain individuals in for an interview while rejecting others, who might be just as qualified for the job. It can also cause us to spend more time and resources nurturing specific individuals while ignoring the needs of others. While this may seem to only harm the individuals receiving favor and those who do not receive it, it actually harms an entire team or organization because we ultimately effect the balance of top talent, creativity and overall customer service that might otherwise be delivered within our organizations because we limit the potential of everyone involved.
When we prevent a woman from moving up in an organization or educationally, we may be preventing the next scientist or physician from inventing a cure for cancer or Alzheimer’s disease. When we limit the potential of a young African American boy, we might be hindering the development of the next Dr. Martin Luther King. It’s really that simple. So nurturing others equally and fairly is important to individuals as well as to the mission and vision of our organizations. Business owners, management, church leaders and any other leaders… even heads of families are responsible for cultivating and producing today’s champions and tomorrow’s heroes. Every leader should make note of that! So let’s learn a little more about our biases, since we all have them. We can only limit their negative impact when better understand what they are…
Understanding How Our Biases Work
There are actually 5 different forms of Bias. Each of us might recognize a time or two when one or more of these types of bias showed up in our thoughts.
The Halo Effect
The Halo Effect occurs when we identify one great thing about a person and let that halo glow shine over everything about that person.
The Horns Effect
The Horns Effect is the opposite of the Halo effect. It occurs when we perceive a person is unduly influenced by one negative trait. For example if we do not like the way a person wears their hair, we make the assumption that they are a lazy, unprofessional and prone to using illegal drugs. Obviously one’s hairstyle has nothing to do with their professionalism or the use of drugs but herein lies the instability of thinking when we are biased.
Affinity Bias
An affinity bias causes us to favor people who we feel we have something in common or a connection with, such as attending the same school, growing up in the same area or sharing the same major in college. When we have an affinity bias, we may play favorites toward this person, helping and encouraging them whenever possible when on the contrary doing the opposite with someone with whom we have no affinity or common bond.
Attribution Bias
We generally think of our own achievements as being the result of our own effort and hard work, and our failures as being the result of external factors, including other people who prevented us from doing well. In attribution bias, we think the opposite of this. We consider the achievements of others as being accidental or the result of luck and their failings as the result of their behavior or character.
Confirmation Bias
In holding a bias or judgement against another, we look for evidence to support that judgement and quickly latch onto it when we find it, as we see it as proof of the existence of that bias.
Gain Additional Insight: Implicit Bias Testing
Harvard University developed a well know and slightly controversial test that assesses whether a person has hidden biases against specific groups, that affect their subconscious thinking. This test, the Implicit Association Test (IAT) was first introduced around 1998. For two decades the school, in conjunction with several other universities has gathered data on millions who have taken the assessment. Based upon the premise of the test, it would confirm that everyone is biased. The test is available to the general public and something you should try. It will offer more to think about. https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
Closing Thoughts
If you research types of biases or kinds of biases online, you’d be as amazed as I was at what comes up… the 4 common types of bias, the 6 common types of bias, the 3 kinds of bias and more. In all honesty most of them were all different, while some included a cross section of what I listed with some added in or subtracted. My point is not to belabor the reality of bias or to prolong the correction but to implore each of us to give thought to the fact that we all have work to do.
Bias exists in each of us, so each of us needs to assess our own but more importantly, be mindful of the fact that many of the biases that cause harm to others are those that we don’t realize are in play. We therefore have to be very careful and extra contemplative of the decisions we make and why we are making them. I have watched some of the nicest most professional, well-meaning individuals make very biased decisions and take action on those decisions without every considering their own biases. My mental reaction in such cases has been, “Do you hear yourself?!” Naturally, I do not react that way, as I realize they will shut down on me, but while you are self-analyzing, make it a point to analyze the suspected biases that seep out of the mouths and minds of friends and family. Give them a gentle nudge to let them know, “That sounds a little biased to me.” What can I say? It’s a start!