None of us would say that we are biased for or against certain groups of people. We know that stereotypes are bad, and we work hard everyday to further Extension’s mission of inclusivity.
But sometimes we may not even know we have bias or believe in stereotypes about groups because it occurs outside of conscious awareness and control; that’s an implicit bias. So for example, even if you say that men and women are equally good at math, it is possible that you associate math with men without knowing it. In this case we would say that you have an implicit math-men stereotype.
Even with the best intentions, because it is out of our control, implicit bias can undermine outreach efforts and relationship-building with diverse groups of people.
Do you know if you have an implicit bias? Find out! Take the Harvard University Implicit Bias Assessment here. There are many different assessments depending on what you want to find out: everything from race, religion, gender, disability, and even weight.
It’s not necessarily bad if you have an implicit bias; you probably didn’t actively work at getting it, it just happened through socialization, cultural training, and the messages you received through your life experiences. So after taking the assessment you find out you have a bias and want to work at changing it, what do you do? One solution is to seek experiences that could reverse or undo the patterns that created the unwanted preference. For example, you could choose to avoid watching television shows that promote negative stereotypes of women or minorities. You could read materials that opposes the implicit preference. You could interact with people or learn about people who counter your implicit stereotypes. You can work to remain alert to the existence of the unwanted implicit preference to make sure that it doesn’t influence your overt behavior. You can also try consciously planned actions that will compensate for your implicit preferences. For example, if you have an implicit preference for young people you can try to be friendlier toward elderly people. Research shows that implicit preferences are quite malleable so it is possible to manage and change them if you want to.
~Material taken from Project Implicit website~
