Why is it that we like someone instantly and warm up , and with some others we hesitate and distance ourselves as certain warning bells begin to ring somewhere in our subconscious mind .These responses are the result of implicit or unconscious bias. Implicit bias refers to a belief or an attitude perceived in a stereo typed pattern which may be incorrect, far from truth and at times dangerously unjust . Unconscious bias is so subtle that we are hardly aware of it. Why is it that we like some people instantly and warm to them, but with some others, we hesitate to strike a rapport and distance ourselves from them as certain warning bells ring somewhere in our subconscious mind? These responses are the result of implicit or unconscious bias.
Implicit bias refers to a belief or an attitude perceived in a stereotyped pattern which may be incorrect, far from truth and at times, dangerously unjust. Unconscious bias is so subtle that we are hardly aware of it. Most of us do not even know that we are so biased.
Implicit bias begins as early as childhood when the human brain is busy wiring up a maze of neuronal circuits and trains itself to the visual, auditory and even olfactory cues presented to it and starts to classify them in set patterns. The known or the familiar is recognised as good and friendly, and the unknown or the alien is treated as bad and harmful.
Despite formal and experiential learning, and increasing ability to reason, some elements of implicit bias continue through into adult life. And all of us are a “little bit biased “irrespective of our social, cultural and educational standing”. Implicit or unconscious bias is important to recognise and to understand because of its potential to affect individuals and society — for instance, on a milder scale, a person with authority can blight the career prospects of an individual because of an unfounded prejudice, and at a larger scale, a similar psychology leads to “honour” killings, massacres and even genocides. History is replete with such anecdotes.
Hate speech
The roots of most social maladies of today can be traced to unconscious bias exhibited by individuals in isolation or collective groups. Social behaviour is largely influenced by unconscious associations and judgments, starting from subtle bodily cues to hate speeches and writings to outright violence, all manifest behaviour of implicit bias.
A serious byproduct of bias is stigma. A recent disturbing news about three women of a family who suffered serious health issues on using a concocted fairness cream is a grim reminder of the attitudes of society to skin tone, driven by social bias against people of colour.
Racial discrimination is the most exercised of all unconscious biases. One cannot forget the visuals of #BlackLivesMatters.
Implicit bias has its influence in all walks of life — colour discrimination, sexual discrimination, in teaching, in healthcare delivery, and more widely in law enforcement. There is a significant body of evidence of this, and there is a strong link between inherent bias and behaviour, which manifests not only in face-to-face situations but also in paper-based analysis or assessments. That is why the practice of dummy numbers being assigned to answer scripts and double-blind control trials in research came into practice.
Why do we have bias? Oversimplifying and fast thinking to arrive at a conclusion is, according to social psychologists, the main reason. In decision making, we look to short cuts, given the magnitude and plethora of inputs and stimuli the human brain receives in this complicated and complex environment. As a quick fix to the problem, unconscious biases step in rather than the more time-consuming, analytical and slow cognitive processes. Gut feeling, intuitive insight, educated guesses and so on are terms so often used, and we incorrectly rely on these for accuracy. Upbringing, culture and influence of family go a long way in inculcation of bias. Most important, repetitive stimuli from TV channels and social media reinforce the stereotyped thought process, and this is where marketing strategists find their niche.
How to reduce the impact of implicit bias? Given its sinister implications, it is important to learn to remove them. Cognitive behavioural therapy, meditation on being mindful, empathetic perspective and regular reinforcement of training at the workplace and educational institutions will help. Slowing down the decision process, and taking time to consciously revisit the decisions will help to make this world not just better also a bias-free place.
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