Battling bias: What causes people to discriminate against others or behave unethically?

Many books and articles have been written on cognitive bias—an attitude that forms automatically and affects judgments, decisions, and behaviors. The greatest emphasis is on negative biases, which cause people to discriminate against others or act unethically.

Jeffrey To, a researcher in experimental psychology, cautions that training alone will not eradicate undesired bias, despite the simplistic solutions many people offer. He suggests the problem has two interlocking dimensions that are often overlooked in a quest to eliminate discriminatory action. First is mislabeling the type of bias involved (conscious, implicit, or unconscious) and second is the systemic reinforcement for biased action (individual or organizational).

Types of Bias

First, To reminds us that we have conscious bias where we know we are treating groups of people differently, such as treating children differently than adults or people with a medical license differently than those without the same credential. As we set the criteria for conscious bias, we need to consider whether the qualifications are based on objective standards or if the criteria will intentionally or unintentionally put one group or another at a disadvantage.

Next, To describes implicit bias as a habitual way of categorizing people, groups, or actions. We can notice our implicit biases as we watch our own thoughts and actions. We can also change the behaviors that flow from our implicit bias with a commitment to act differently. For example, I might see a young man in a hoodie and immediately conclude he doesn’t belong in my neighborhood. However, if I stop for just a minute and notice I have no information to help judge the person (other than a comfortable sweater), I don’t have to have a negative emotional response or act on the implicit bias.

Unconscious bias is, as the name states, a bias we don’t even know we have. To notes that people often conflate implicit bias and unconscious bias to escape responsibility. However, through education and awareness, we can expose our unconscious biases. We can then discern how these unconscious biases are in fact habitual implicit bias. And finally, we can choose to do something about it—or not. Many times, even after clarifying our unconscious biases, we choose not to change, preferring the habitual way of treating people differently or ignoring unethical behavior for various personal and organizational reasons.

Sources of Bias

As discussed above, the first place we look for bias is within the individual, because we believe individuals are responsible for their actions and for creating ethical cultures. With a stated faith in the essential goodness of people, we also believe people at their core want to be fundamentally fair. So we assume people will work to overcome their negative biases as soon as they discover them.

The second source of bias is systemic bias, those organizational policies and practices that reinforce treating different groups of people differently. Many individuals work in organizations that support their personal individual biases. Thus, many organizations and communities reinforce personal and cultural biases and no one feels compelled to change anything.

The biases can also show up as expectations for people in identified groups behaving in a way that will then justify different treatment. A classic conundrum for women is that if they speak with the voice of authority accepted for men, their colleagues ignore or vilify them. Interestingly, current research shows men are not penalized for speaking more inclusively and gently. If men could be taught to abandon their authoritative voice, the expectation for both men and women would be calm and inclusive conversations—not anger and righteous proclamations.

These biases can also show up as organizations who explicitly or implicitly include only one class of members—either all men or all women, or all one racial group or another. The organizations defend their existence because they were historically excluded from the groups that held the power, so they created their own communities. We now face the question of whether those exclusionary groups should continue to exist or if they have outlived their usefulness.

Antidote

Unfortunately for all of us, changing habitual thoughts and behaviors requires not only attention but intention. We must not only notice the bias but also imagine how we would behave if didn’t have it—and develop the will to change.

Often, experts offer training as the antidote for bias in the workplace or community based on the belief that lack of awareness is the main problem. The belief is that none of us want to discriminate, thus as we become aware of our habitual biases that lurk below the threshold of awareness, we will change our behavior. However, after awareness, individuals and organizations must commit to changing the practices that reinforce those biases.

Individuals can notice an area of bias and commit to changing their behaviors. This commitment will not be a one-day speed fix, but like any habit will take at least 30 days of conscious awareness and intentional changes of behavior to set a routine in place. Often, people find they must change affinity groups to move away from the reinforcement of peer beliefs and behaviors.

Organizations can also change their implicit biases. By examining where in their particular systems bias occurs, they can change their practices and policies to minimize the bias. For example, if someone in HR notices that the recruiting documents define “successful candidates” as those who have graduated from top universities, thus limiting the opportunity for those who graduate from excellent regional or state programs, they can change the criteria to be more inclusive.

This systemic awareness is going to be essential as organizations continue to develop and use AI in place of human judgment. Given that AI mirrors human behaviors, any bias in the data sets used to populate generative AI will be replicated. Then, in addition to being unconscious within human beings, the bias will be shrouded in complex programming, generated by the computer, that programmers may not even understand. Unless prompted by an observant human, AI cannot gain awareness of its own biases and intentionally change its habits.

So, we begin by paying attention and then imagining ways to not perpetuate unwanted bias. This work requires persistence and moral courage—as does all work to break down the beliefs and behaviors that keep some from flourishing in community.