Presented by Evelyn Carter with Commune
Tags: attributional ambiguity, blatant bias, structural bias, subtle bias
“Just because norms prohibit the blatant expression of bias, doesn’t mean it isn’t there and having an impact on our actions and on society.”
The Impact of Bias
- Often our societal conversations about racism focus on finding the clearest evidence that a person is racist
- What racism looks like can shift overtime based on norms and the ways it manifest on a spectrum of blatant/obvious/overt to subtle/covert/hidden racism
- We must be vigilant for all the forms bias and racism might take
- Sometimes bias is subtle, blatant or structural
- Subtle bias: a mismatch between a positive expressed belief and a negative non-verbal behaviour
- e.g., I say (verbal) I like dogs but move away (non-verbal) when one comes near
- Not everyone can notice it (which is why it’s called “subtle”)
- The reason why racial and ethnic minority groups who describe subtle experiences with discrimination are often dismissed as being oversensitive complainers who are just playing the race card
- People who experience subtle bias can experience attributional ambiguity: inability to determine the reason for being treated a particular way or what someone meant by a statement they made (causes cognitive and emotional stress which can, for example, impact ones ability to exercise peak performance at work or school)
- Blatant bias: beliefs in the inherent inferiority of a group, coupled with laws and social norms that support these attitudes
- People experience harm whether it’s a blatant or subtle experience
- Chronic and subtle experiences with bias is associated with:
- Greater substance abuse
- Poorer cardiovascular health
- Greater incidence of depression, anxiety and stress
- Structural bias: widespread factors within an environment or social context to perpetuate inequality
- e.g., Differing incarceration policies for drug related offences;
- Children from lower income background have a harder time getting the same access to quality education as their peers;
- Stereotypes, discrimination and lack of support for women in professional settings
- Subtle bias: a mismatch between a positive expressed belief and a negative non-verbal behaviour
- The Bias of Crowds (study)
- Implicit bias (a bias for or against people based on their society identity) is a psychological marker of systemic prejudice in the environment
- The average level of a communities implicit bias is related to the structural bias that exists in that same area
- e.g., The organization Project Implicit looks at trends and patterns in people’s implicit associations that happen geographically
- Areas where there are greater levels of anti-black implicit bias are also areas where there are greater structural forms of oppression that black people in those communities face (e.g., greater instances of police brutality against black individuals in that setting)
- Collective implicit biases shape the experiences of discrimination and oppression that a number of people face in our society
- Structures of oppression reinforce particular stereotypes as valid, true and relevant
- e.g., Blacks are criminal influences our implicit attitudes
- We must each do what we can to:
- Align our implicit and explicit attitudes
- Unwind our own prejudices
- Create an equitable society
- Intervene on structural forms of bias
Resources to learn more:
Donald Trump and the Social Psychology of Prejudice
Group-based Differences in Perceptions of Racism: What Counts, to Whom, and Why?
Learn more from Evelyn:
Identifying Implicit Attitude (Part 2)
Techniques for Reducing Bias (Part 4)
More from Commune
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