Taming the Biased Black Box? On the Potential Role of Behavioral Realism in Anti-Discrimination Policy

Abstract

Anti-discrimination laws have for long been established in many legal systems, and the respective body of rules has constantly grown. But findings from social psychology research suggest that these policies are based on unrealistic premises and are therefore bound to remain unsuccessful. While legal scholarship has begun to reflect upon these insights and discussed a number of individual policy responses, this essay seeks to provide a more comprehensive framework within which the implications of implicit social cognition for anti-discrimination policies can be understood, and to map out the range of reform options for anti-discrimination policy.