Bias operates without intention or awareness

Evidence

It is now widely accepted that prejudice and stereotypes can be implicit rather than explicit, operating without perceivers’ intent or awareness. Allport would not have been surprised by this conclusion, but undoubtedly would have been intrigued with the new methodological tools that have allowed researchers to reliably assess unconscious cognitive processes (e.g., Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998). — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2378 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

The focus on “bad” is in line with many people’s commonsense notions of bias as a moral failing that requires some degree of animus and bad intention (DiAngelo, 2018). Decades of empirical social scientific research, however, demonstrate that bias requires no intention or awareness at all. Bias is often implicit, meaning that we have thoughts and feelings about others of which we are unaware but which nonetheless can profoundly affect our judgments and behavior—even when we do not want to be influenced and even when we are consciously committed to egalitarianism (Devine, 1989). Empirical evidence of racial disparities in policing echoes the voices of people of color who, for generations, haven spoken of being treated differently by law enforcement. At the same time, police officers overwhelmingly deny that explicit racial profiling occurs in their agencies. The science of implicit bias tells us both can be simultaneously true, which paves the way for us to focus more on impact, instead of exclusively on intention. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 393 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Cognitive biases are an inherited feature of all human brains, not curable — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 115; Bureaucratic functionality makes bias officially unacknowledgeable and contested — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of…, 847; Blinding audits cannot undo accumulated experiential advantages from past discrimination. — Anthony G. Greenwald and Mahzarin R. Banaji, Implicit Social Cognition: Attitudes,…, 257 (+14 more)

Broader Connections

• Prejudice can operate implicitly, without perceivers’ intent or awareness. #corroborates (0.97)
• Prejudice and stereotypes can operate implicitly without perceivers’ awareness #corroborates (0.96) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2378
• Implicit bias operates without intention and can contradict conscious egalitarian values #corroborates (0.95) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 393
• Implicit racial bias operates outside conscious awareness and explicit beliefs #corroborates (0.95) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2170
• Implicit bias operates below awareness and resists admission even when perceived #corroborates (0.92) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 666
• Implicit biases can be consciously overridden through deliberate attention #complicates (0.82) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 1362
• Unlearning bias works through vigilant, repeatable acts of catching automatic judgments #complicates (0.75) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 400
• Individual willpower cannot override implicit bias; institutional design must #complicates (0.74) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 1354
• Hidden biases can be corrected by training attention, not by adjusting conditions #complicates (0.73) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 394