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.
In an essay published in Aeon, To describes implicit bias as a habitual way of categorizing people, groups, or actions. We can notice our implicit biases as we examine 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 relevant to making a judgement about the person (other than a comfortable sweater), I don’t have to have a negative emotional response or act on my initial implicit bias.
Unconscious bias is 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 reflection, we can expose our unconscious biases and then discern how they are in fact habitual implicit bias. 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.
An excellent resource for better understanding the many complexities of unconscious bias is Pamela Fuller’s The Leader’s Guide to Unconscious Bias: Focus on Belonging. For those looking for a practical guide for how professionals can combat bias, foster inclusivity, and build thriving, high-performing teams, this text delivers big on the profound importance our biases play in our ability to collaborate effectively, achieve success in our careers, and create enduring relationships.
Sources of Bias
The first place we look for bias is within ourselves 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.
If the current push to eliminate DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) takes hold, every segment of our community will be the worst for it. Every gardener and farmer will tell you that a monoculture — where all the planting is the same — leads to unhealthy plants. First, new ideas and perspectives show us where our thinking is stuck. Watching people do projects differently helps us to understand better ways of getting our work done. Finally, the greatest human gift is creativity — seeing a wider picture because of the insights gained through looking at diverse personalities and beliefs and then harmonizing them. Those insights enable us to address the toxins in our existing organizations, the source of systemic bias.
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.
Examples of biases can also exist as organizations who explicitly or implicitly include only one class of members (e.g. all men or all women, or all one racial group or another). These types of organizations defend their existence because they were historically excluded from 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 further the propagation of harmful bias.
Antidote
Unfortunately for all of us, changing habitual thoughts and behaviors requires not only attention but intention. We must notice the bias and also imagine how we would behave if we didn’t — and develop the will to modify and adapt.
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. This belief relies on the assumption that none of us want to discriminate; thus, as we become aware of our habitual biases that lurk below the surface of consciousness, we will change our behavior. However, after awareness occurs, individuals and organizations must then commit to changing the practices that reinforce those biases.
Individuals can identify areas of bias and commit to changing their behaviors. This commitment will not be a one-day speed fix, but like any habit, will take a sustained period of conscious awareness and intentional modification of behavior to engrain a new routine. Often, people find they must shift into different affinity groups to move away from the reinforcement of undesired peer beliefs and behaviors.
Organizations have the ability to change internal implicit biases. By examining where within particular systems bias occurs, they can adapt 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.
Such systemic awareness is essential as organizations continue to develop and use AI in place of human judgment and values. Given that AI mirrors human behaviors, any bias in the data sets used to populate generative AI algorithms 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 or intentionally change its habits.
So, we begin by paying attention to ourselves and the organizations and communities in which we participate; and then by imagining ways to stop the perpetuation of unwanted bias. This work requires persistence and moral courage — as does all work to break down the beliefs and behaviors that unfairly advantage some but limit others from flourishing in community.