First coined in the 90's by Dr. Anthony Greenwald and colleagues, implicit biases have been defined as biases about social groups that are often outside of conscious awareness, yet still influence judgment, decision-making, and behavior. Modern politicians and social scientists have implicated implicit biases as explaining the persistence of rampant racial discrimination. While we live in a society today that looks down upon prejudice against minorities, women and members of the LBGTQIA+ communities, we still can observe discrimination among individuals and in our institutions.
Implicit biases have been found to be more predictive of interracial behaviors than self-reported attitudes. Many people often report having neutral/ egalitarian attitudes that do not relate to there biased behaviors and implicit associations. It is important for individuals to be aware of implicit biases because they impact many every day interactions such as how people are perceived by others, relationship satisfaction, physicians' treatment of their patients, employment discrimination, and teacher-student relationships and their connection to the racial achievement gap. Our implicit biases form very early in development and tend to remain stable throughout the lifespan . This is most likely due to lack of awareness, education and understanding about implicit biases. Dr. Gibson's research has shown that there are factors associated with the development of specific implicit biases (e.g., exposure and experiences, age, specific messages received about social groups) . |
The Bias Adjuster uses science to provide awareness of biases, the factors associated with bias formation, and the tools to adjust any unwanted biases and/or behaviors. |
The Bias Adjuster | bgibson@thebiasadjuster.com | 1 West Court Square, Decatur, GA 30030 | 404-494-7894