Implicit bias 10

Mechanism

Retrain the underlying associations

Shift the context of evaluation

Control the activation or application of associations

Effective interventions:

1. Engaging with others’ perspective, consciousness-raising or imagining contact with outgroup – participants either imagine how the outgroup thinks and feels, are made aware of the way the outgroup is marginalised or given new information about the outgroup, or imagine having contact with the outgroup.
2. Identifying the self with the outgroup – participants perform tasks that lessen barriers between themselves and the outgroup.
3. Exposure to counterstereotypical exemplars – participants are exposed to exemplars that contradict the stereotype of the outgroup.
4. Appeals to egalitarian values – participants are encouraged to activate egalitarian goals or think about multiculturalism, co-operation or tolerance.
5. Evaluative conditioning – participants perform tasks to strengthen counterstereotypical associations.
6. Inducing emotion –emotions or moods are induced in participants
7. Intentional strategies to overcome biases – participants are instructed to implement strategies to override or suppress their biases.
8. Drugs – participants take a drug.

The most effective categories were: intentional strategies to overcome biases; exposure to counterstereotypical exemplars ; identifying the self with the outgroup ; evaluative conditioning ; and inducing emotion. The sole study in our drugs category was effective. The appeals to egalitarian values category had 4 interventions that were effective and 4 that were not. The largest category was engaging with others’ perspective, with 11 interventions, but a mere 4 of these were effective.

To some extent, the ineffectiveness of interventions after a longer time period is to be expected. Implicit biases have been partly formed through repeated exposure to associations: their very presence hints at their being not only generated but also maintained by culture. Any counter-actions, even if effective immediately, would then themselves be rapidly countered since participants remain part of their culture from which they receive constant inputs. To tackle this, interventions may need to be repeated frequently or somehow be constructed so that they create durable changes in the habits of participants. More in-depth interventions where participants follow a whole course or interact frequently with the out-group have been successful.

With experts:

It took me about one week to find experts who have studied about implicit bias. Even for psychologist, implicit bias is a less desirable topic. Among the experts that I have been in contact with, most of them discussed with me about bias in a broad sense. Luckily, I finally found two psychologists who had professional understanding about implicit bias.

I had a discussion with two psychologists. They all agree that it is more than complex and difficult to eliminate implicit bias completely. And in some case it is meaningless as it only has limited influence.It would require long time conditioning and constant effort. Implicit bias can be regarded as a high probability event. But it is definitely worth containing those biases when it is going to become explicit. One very effective method is proving a counter- example. Concentrating to observe others’ characteristic feature but not only the information that he belongs to the groups could also help. I introduced my ntervention idea to them and they quite like my idea. It shows peoples’ mental tendentiousness while they are deciding which person to choose. But still, there are things more than that needed to be considered.

CONCLUSION:

A The uncomfortable truth is that we live in a society in which stereotypes about groups of people are ubiquitous, and it follows that almost everyone has some implicit bias
It is nearly impossible to eliminate implicit bias, but It is very meaningful and necessary to contain bias in case of being explicit

B For some special industries like customs or police, intervening their implicit bias which may affect their judgement can prevent likely faults

C One very effective method is providing a counter- example. Concentrating to observe others’ characteristic feature but not only the information that he belongs to the groups could also help.

D Any counter-actions, even if effective immediately, would then themselves be rapidly countered since participants remain part of their culture from which they receive constant inputs. To tackle this, interventions may need to be repeated frequently or somehow be constructed so that they create durable changes in the habits of participants.

Advice for future studies in this area can be summarized as follows:

Investigate the effect of interventions on implicit stereotypes as well as implicit prejudices

Use large sample sizes

Pre-register study designs

Use key words and titles that will span disciplines

Include all relevant study parameters in the title and abstract

Include all statistical analyses and data when publishing

Include all the details of the study method

Investigate the long term effects of interventions

Investigate the effects of institutional/organizational changes on implicit biases

Test interventions on a wide range of real workforces outside universities