Everyone has unconscious biases — here's how to identify, address, and overcome them

• Implicit bias refers to unconscious stereotypes against others and how they affect our behavior.
• Implicit bias, aka unconscious bias, reinforces inequalities at work, school, the doctor's, and more.
• It's possible to overcome implicit bias with training and policy changes upheld by organizations.

Implicit bias, also known as unconscious bias, refers to having a preference for, aversion to, or stereotypes about a certain group of people on an unconscious level. Unlike racism or sexism — a conscious discrimination against a group of people — people with implicit biases are often not aware of the ways that their biases affect their behavior.

"Although we like to imagine that we are fair, reasonable and unbiased in the small and big choices and decisions we make in our daily lives, we are neither truly impartial nor neutral," says Tanya Mathew, co-chair of Cultural Competency & Anti-Bias Education at the Diversity Council at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Implicit biases can reinforce existing inequities and stereotypes, Matthew says. You're not a bad person for having implicit biases, but it's important to acknowledge that these feelings can and have had a significant impact on the workplace, medicine, education, and more.

"It insidiously and automatically seeps into a person's behavior, and is outside of the full awareness of that person," she says. "And yet it's shaping decisions made and how they evaluate and interact with people."

One of the most powerful ways to combat implicit biases is to be more conscious of perceptions and actively push back on them, says Mathew. Keep reading to learn how to become more fair and unbiased by bringing your unconscious biases into your awareness.

What is implicit bias

The concept of implicit bias was introduced in 1995 by research psychologists Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald. They argued that while most people think social interactions are under conscious control, they are actually heavily influenced by implicit, unconscious biases.

Since then, the concept has been scientifically proven using brain scans, says Mathew. For example, a 2018 study found people's brains reacted differently to images of people they perceived as similar to them, versus people they preserved as dissimilar.

People usually associate implicit bias with race, but it can be based on virtually any factor, including body size, speech patterns, age, income, sexual orientation, or hair color, says Mathew.

An easy way to identify some of your implicit biases can be simply asking yourself what type of person you picture when you hear the following:

• Nurse
• Doctor
• Teacher
• Professor
• Secretary
• CEO
• Addict
• Police officer

Examples of implicit bias

Everyone has implicit biases that we act on unintentionally, says Nathaniel Ivers, Ph.D, the department chairman and an associate professor of counseling at Wake Forest University.

Here are some common examples of how implicit bias can impact the workplace, healthcare, education, and your daily life.

Implicit bias in the workplace

• About 30% of CEOs are taller than 6'2", compared with 4% of American males. This suggests an unconscious bias associating height with success.
• Another survey of CEOs revealed that the deeper their voice, the more they were likely to earn. This suggests a preference for deep voices in male CEOs.

Implicit bias in medicine

• Women's pain is often perceived as less severe, or downplayed, suggesting a biased belief that women are exaggerating pain.
• Black women with fibroids are more likely than white women to have invasive treatments like a hysterectomy, suggesting a bias against working with the patient for less invasive treatment.

Implicit bias in education

• Teachers' perceptions of their students' abilities can influence actual student outcomes. For example, in districts where teachers show more pro-white bias, there is a larger achievement gap between Black and white students.
• Black students are disproportionately disciplined compared to white students. For example, Black students are more likely than white students to be suspended for the same offense. This suggests a bias against Black students over white ones.

Implicit bias in daily life

• People, including children, may judge overweight people more harshly than thin people.
• Parents may have lower expectations of math skills for girls compared to boys.

Quick Tip: Get to know your biases using this test from Project Implicit, out of Harvard. "Your results do not mean that you have discriminated against others — it simply means that your unconscious mind finds it easy to make certain associations that may reveal preferences," Matthew says.

Implicit bias training

These days, more employers, educational institutions, and other organizations are providing implicit bias training to help make people more aware of their unconscious biases.

"Understanding what implicit biases are, how they can arise and how to recognize them in yourself and others are all incredibly important in working towards overcoming such biases," Matthew says.

Overcoming implicit bias, however, is not easy because it's an inherent reaction to distance yourself from others rather than engage. Therefore, relearning and reshaping your behavior is always a challenge, which may explain why bias training programs may not be enough. A 2019 scientific analysis found many implicit bias programs didn't change behavior. Even companies that host diversity trainings often show biases in how they perceive the qualifications of Black candidates.

Note: Back in 2006, a review found that companies that hosted unconscious bias training were less likely to promote Black employees. Though it's important to recognize this review is over 15 years old and its findings may no longer apply.

Moreover, an analysis from the Harvard Business Review found that in order to be effective, implicit bias training needs to do more than just point out the problem. Because just knowing the problem won't be helpful when people are under hard deadlines and rely more on knee-jerk reactions and first impressions.

To overcome implicit bias you must make people understand that although these biases are unconscious, they have the power to change them. It must be paired with policy changes at the organization, such as changes to family leave policies or hiring processes.

"This has to be an organizational priority at all levels with tangible investment and support from senior leadership," says Matthew. "Otherwise it will be another performative action without real outcomes."

Breaking down biases at home

Implicit bias training is best done in a group and led by a professional, says Matthew. She recommends the virtual bias training led by Cook Ross.

In addition to undergoing training, people can continue their education at home.

"Mitigation has to become a daily practice and skill that needs to be continually developed," she says.

To fight your implicit bias, Mathew recommends these steps:

• Acknowledge your biases by taking the test from Harvard. Be sure to acknowledge all your biases, even those seemingly based around positivity like a belief that women are just more nurturing than men.
• Interact with people who trigger your biases. Maintain a diverse group of friends, and follow people of various abilities, body types, and living situations on social media.
• Challenge your biases. For example, invite your nephew (instead of your niece) to bake with you, or take a fitness class led by an instructor who is more on the chubby side.

In addition, Matthew recommends these books:

• "Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See Think and Do," by Jennifer Eberhardt
• "Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People" by Anthony Greenwald and Mahzarin Banaji
• "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson
• "Implicit Racial Bias Across the Law" by Justin Levinson and Robert Smith
• "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman
• "The Sum of Us" by Heather McGhee

Implicit bias vs. explicit bias

Whereas implicit bias is unconscious, explicit bias is a behavior or belief that is consciously controlled.

"Explicit biases are intentionally discriminative, overt and include intentional choices of words, behaviors, and actions," says Matthew. "The person is very clear about his or her feelings and attitudes, and related behaviors are conducted with intent."

Left unchecked, unconscious biases can lead to explicit bias, says Ivers.

"There is a correlation between implicit bias and explicit bias," he says. "Unfavorable or overly favorable unconscious beliefs or attitudes about one group may lead to [conscious] unfair treatment of these groups."

With work, it's possible to overcome explicit bias just like how you can conquer implicit bias.

Insider's takeaway

Implicit bias is a fact of life. While there's no way to rid yourself of implicit biases completely, implicit bias training can make you more aware of the ways unconscious assumptions impact your decision making and choices.

You're not controlled by these unconscious thoughts and beliefs and by simply being more curious about them can make a big difference. Once you've identified an implicit bias ask yourself how they are affecting your choices in ways that you don't want them to. Then you'll have the necessary information to make significant changes.

"Having an unconscious bias doesn't make you a bad person — it just means you're human," says Matthew. "Thankfully, human beings have an incredible capacity to learn, grow, change, adapt and improve themselves, but only if they want to."