Implicit Bias

Abstract

Implicit bias is topical in contemporary Western societies, and interventions to counter implicit bias, from training seminars to legislation, are de rigueur for many organisations and institutions. The concept of implicit bias refers to the ways in which our attitudes and beliefs unconsciously affect our judgements of and actions towards other people based on their group characteristics. The scientific literature on implicit bias is now sizeable and growing rapidly. We suggest several conceptual and empirical problems beset the literature and that more work is needed on the definition and operationalisation of implicit bias. One major problem is the lack of a benchmark for identifying a response as biased – studies typically cannot distinguish bias in favour of one group from bias against another. Another major problem is confusion about what constitutes implicit. ‘Implicit’ is variously used to mean a psychological construct, an experimental procedure, a cognitive or neuropsychological function, or a combination of these. Many studies seem to show that ‘implicit bias’ is not especially unconscious. Finally, in terms of real-world consequences, implicit biases appear relatively malleable but have weak links to changes in explicit bias or behaviour. We discuss the relevance and utility of implicit bias for reducing real-world intergroup discrimination, particularly in a wider structural, institutional, and historical context.