Understanding and Overriding Unconscious Bias

Understanding and Overriding Unconscious Bias

by Felicity Menzies

Public-opinion surveys in Western democracies report an almost unanimous rejection of racist beliefs and attitudes, and high endorsement of egalitarian (equality) values. But lower expressed racism does not mean that stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination do not exist. Discrimination studies of rental and employment markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, and across Europe consistently show that significant racial discrimination against minority groups continues. And it is well documented that minority groups experience higher death rates, infant mortality rates, arrest rates, and harsher criminal penalties than dominant cultural groups. 

Unconscious bias

Modern theories of racism and sexism propose that we simultaneously hold unconscious prejudices and strong egalitarian ideals. Our unconscious bias develops mostly from biased media representations. As we are repeatedly exposed to stereotypical associations and prejudices from an early age, they become automated in our long-term memory. At the same time, the outward expression of this internalised bias is curbed by strong social norms and legal restrictions.

The result is a subtle, hidden, and often unconscious negative bias towards particular social groups. Even individuals who truly believe they are totally without prejudice might hold unconscious bias: studies show racism and sexism manifest in prejudiced attitudes and discriminatory behaviour even when a person expressly endorses egalitarian values.

Unconscious bias is problematic in the workplace because, by its definition, an individual will most likely be unaware of its influence. Bias in recruitment, selection, promotion, development, and everyday workplace interaction creates inequality, limits the potential value that can flow from a diverse workforce, increases legal and repetitional risk, and threatens employee engagement, commitment, and productivity.

Overriding unconscious bias

Research shows automatic and unconscious mental responses can be overridden with conscious and deliberate effort. A person who is motivated to be unprejudiced—because of legal sanctions, social pressures or strong personal egalitarian values—can suppress biased responses.

But even well-intentioned individuals fail to suppress their automatic stereotypes and biases all of the time. Controlled responses are deliberate and much slower than automatic responses. There remains the possibility of reflexive and immediate biased responses, even in individuals who support egalitarian values. Also, when people are mentally taxed (for example, when engaged in complex problem solving) or fatigued, they are less able to override reflexive responses.

Research shows that conscious attempts to suppress bias are more effective at inhibiting some prejudiced behaviours compared than others. It is easier, for example, to control verbal responses than nonverbal behaviours (tone of voice, body language, facial expressions) or mental judgements. Subtle bias can ‘leak out’ during our exchanges with diverse others. Prejudiced cues can have a negative impact on our interactions by decreasing openness and trust.

Individual differences in the motivation to respond without prejudice

The desire to respond without prejudice is motivated by two sources: some people are ‘internally’ motivated by internalised egalitarian values, whereas others are ‘externally’ motivated to respond without prejudice because they want to avoid social disapproval or legal ramifications, or because they are seeking to achieve their personal or business goals.

Research shows that the source of motivation to respond without prejudice affects the ability to override unconscious bias. Internally motivated individuals are the most effective at inhibiting stereotypes and responding without prejudice. They experience feelings of guilt or self-criticism when they notice their own bias. These emotions motivate the intentional regulation of prejudiced thoughts and behaviours.

In contrast, when individuals with an externalised motivation to respond without prejudice are made aware that they are violating societal standards, they might become annoyed or angry at outgroup members. This can worsen intergroup relations.

Research
Blair, I. V. (2002). The malleability of automatic stereotypes and prejudice. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6(3), 242-261.
Blair, I. V., & Banaji, M. R. (1996). Automatic and controlled processes in stereotype priming. Journal of personality and social psychology, 70(6), 1142-1163.
Bargh, J. A., & Williams, E. L. (2006). The automaticity of social life. Current directions in psychological science, 15(1), 1-4.
Crandall, C. S., & Eshleman, A. (2003). A justification-suppression model of the expression and experience of prejudice. Psychological Bulletin, 129(3), 414-446.
Cunningham, W. A., Johnson, M. K., Raye, C. L., Gatenby, J. C., Gore, J. C., & Banaji, M. R. (2004). Separable neural components in the processing of black and white faces. Psychological Science, 15(12), 806-813.
Devine, P. G. (1989). Stereotypes and prejudice: Their automatic and controlled components. Journal of personality and social psychology, 56(1), 5-18.
Devine, P. G., & Monteith, M. J. (1999). Automaticity and control in stereotyping. In S. Chaiken & Y. Trope (Eds.), Dual-process Theories in Social Psychology (pp. 339-360). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Devine, P. G., Monteith, M. J., Zuwerink, J. R., & Elliot, A. J. (1991). Prejudice with and without compunction. Journal of personality and social psychology, 60(6), 817-830.
Devine, P. G., Plant, E. A., Amodio, D. M., Harmon-Jones, E., & Vance, S. L. (2002). The regulation of explicit and implicit race bias: The role of motivations to respond without prejudice. Journal of personality and social psychology, 82(5), 835-848.
Dovidio, J. F., Kawakami, K., & Gaertner, S. L. (2002). Implicit and explicit prejudice and interracial interaction. Journal of personality and social psychology, 82(1), 62-68.
Fiske, S. T. (1998). Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 357-411). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Fiske, S. T. (2002). What we know now about bias and intergroup conflict, the problem of the century. Current directions in psychological science, 11(4), 123-128.
Gaertner, S. L., & Dovidio, J. F. (1977). The subtlety of White racism, arousal, and helping behavior. Journal of personality and social psychology, 35(10), 691-707.
Gaertner, S. L., & McLaughlin, J. P. (1983). Racial stereotypes: Associations and ascriptions of positive and negative characteristics. Social Psychology Quarterly, 46(1), 23-30.
Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. L. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The implicit association test. Journal of personality and social psychology, 74(6), 1464-1480.
Hilton, J. L., & Von Hippel, W. (1996). Stereotypes. Annual review of psychology, 47(1), 237-271.
Katz, I., & Hass, R. G. (1988). Racial ambivalence and American value conflict: Correlational and priming studies of dual cognitive structures. Journal of personality and social psychology, 55(6), 893-905.
Legault, L., & Green-Demers, I. (2012). The protective role of self-determined prejudice regulation in the relationship between intergroup threat and prejudice. Motivation and Emotion, 36(2), 143-158.
Legault, L., Green-Demers, I., & Eadie, A. L. (2009). When internalization leads to automatization: The role of self-determination in automatic stereotype suppression and implicit prejudice regulation. Motivation and Emotion, 33(1), 10-24.
Legault, L., Green-Demers, I., Grant, P., & Chung, J. (2007). On the self-regulation of implicit and explicit prejudice: A self-determination theory perspective. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33(5), 732-749.
Lepore, L., & Brown, R. (1997). Category and stereotype activation: Is prejudice inevitable? Journal of personality and social psychology, 72(2), 275-287.
Locke, V., MacLeod, C., & Walker, I. (1994). Automatic and controlled activation of stereotypes: Individual differences associated with prejudice. British Journal of Social Psychology, 33(1), 29-46.
Lowery, B. S., Hardin, C. D., & Sinclair, S. (2001). Social influence effects on automatic racial prejudice. Journal of personality and social psychology, 81(5), 842-855.
Macrae, C. N., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (2000). Social cognition: Thinking categorically about others. Annual review of psychology, 51(1), 93-120.
McConahay, J. B. (1986). Modern racism, ambivalence, and the modern racism scale. In J. F. Dovidio & S. L. Gaertner (Eds.), Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racism (pp. 91-125). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
Monteith, M. J. (1993). Self-regulation of prejudiced responses: Implications for progress in prejudice-reduction efforts. Journal of personality and social psychology, 65(3), 469-485.
Monteith, M. J., Mark, A. Y., & Ashburn-Nardo, L. (2010). The self-regulation of prejudice: Toward understanding its lived character. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 13(2), 183-200
Moskowitz, G. B., Gollwitzer, P. M., Wasel, W., & Schaal, B. (1999). Preconscious control of stereotype activation through chronic egalitarian goals. Journal of personality and social psychology, 77(1), 167-184.
Pearson, A. R., Dovidio, J. F., & Gaertner, S. L. (2009). The nature of contemporary prejudice: Insights from aversive racism. Social and personality psychology compass, 3(3), 314-338.
Plant, E. A., & Devine, P. G. (1998). Internal and external motivation to respond without prejudice. Journal of personality and social psychology, 75(3), 811-832.
Quillian, L. (2006). New approaches to understanding racial prejudice and discrimination. Annual Review of Sociology, 32(1), 299-328.
Sears, D. O. (1993). Symbolic politics: A socio-psychological theory. In S. Iyengar & W. J. McGuire (Eds.), Explorations in Political Psychology (pp. 113-150). Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Sears, D. O., & Henry, P. J. (2005). Over thirty years later: A contemporary look at symbolic racism. Advances in experimental social psychology, 37, 95-150.
Sechrist, G. B., & Stangor, C. (2001). Perceived consensus influences intergroup behavior and stereotype accessibility. Journal of personality and social psychology, 80(4), 645-654.
Wheeler, S. C., & Petty, R. E. (2001). The effects of stereotype activation on behavior: A review of possible mechanisms. Psychological Bulletin, 127(6), 797-826.

 

 

Felicity Menzies is CEO and Principal Consultant at Include-Empower.Com, a diversity and inclusion consultancy with expertise in inclusive leadership, unconscious bias, cultural intelligence and inclusion, gender equity, empowering diverse talent. Felicity is an accredited facilitator with the Cultural Intelligence Centre and the author of A World of Difference. Felicity has over 15 years of experience working with and managing diverse workforces in blue chip companies and is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand. Felicity also holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.