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Tequila Robinson

Professor Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

02/17/2017

Topic Proposal: Im Not Racist, My Neighbor is Black!: A Look at Implicit Bias

Introduction/Overview

I will be examining the development of bias and implicit social cognition, or implicit

bias. I will also be exploring the effects of implicit bias on human behavior and analyzing the

role of implicit biases in cultivating social inequities with a focus on race relations in America.

Although once believed that only bigoted people used stereotypes, studies of implicit bias

reveal that people unconsciously use them all the time (Psychology Today). The Kirwan Institute

for the Study of Race and Ethnicity refers to implicit bias, also referred to as implicit social

cognition, as the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in

an unconscious manner. Implicit bias occurs when one consciously rejects stereotypes but

unconsciously holds negative associations in ones mind (Open Society Foundations).

Previously, psychologists who studied stereotyping based their research on records of participant

feelings towards minority groups and used their answers as an index of their attitudes, but

researchers now understand that conscious replies do not tell the whole truth (Psychology

Today). Developed by a Harvard-led research team, the Implicit Association Test (IAT) found a

significant degree of implicit bias among those testedeven among those that honestly asserted

they held no prejudices. Psychology professor at Yale University and member of minority ethnic

group, Mahzarin Banaji, was surprised when she took one of her own tests of unconscious bias

and showed very strong prejudices (Psychology Today).

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Critics of the IAT and other measures of implicit bias argue the measures as being

arbitrary and dependent on social context, as many peoples scores often change from one test to

another. Some even go as far as to call the research a fad. Some also comment these measures

may simply be used as a tool to get people thinking about implicit bias and that the associations

made are not true unconscious attitudes. (American Psychological Association). There is no

concrete evidence that laboratory studies reflect real-life situations, however, there is growing

evidence that, in many situations, hidden biases are related to discriminatory behavior (Southern

Poverty Law Center). The Southern Poverty Law Center believes the research on implicit bias

can lead to the understanding of the disparity between public opinion and the amount of

discrimination that still exists.

My preliminary research included many articles from Psychology Today as well as The

Southern Poverty Law Centers Teaching Tolerance webpage. The Teaching Tolerance webpage

led me to Harvards Project Implicit, where I began to learn about the different tests used to

measure implicit bias. I also found information via The Ohio State Universitys Kirwan Institute

for the Study of Race and Ethnicity on implicit bias and the PsycINFO database on the

development of bias. The website of the American Psychological Association also proved useful

in finding differing opinions on implicit bias.

Initial Inquiry Question(s)

How do we learn bias?
How are our prejudices reinforced?
How does implicit bias lead to discrimination?
How do we perpetuate bias?
What can we do about unconscious stereotypes and prejudices?
How can we overcome social biases?
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What is the impact of bias on the lives of individuals?

My Interest in this Topic
I am curious to know how biases are developed and why many people continually act in a

prejudiced or discriminatory way when they are adamant about being not prejudiced. My

curiosity is reinforced when I think of the many friends I had to let go of during and after the

election season because of their support of Trump and his ideologies. The Im-not-racist-I-once-

looked-at-a-Muslim-person-and-didnt-call-them-a-terrorist card is tired. I need some sort of

cognitive reassurance that most people arent just trying to protect their reputations and

conscience by declaring they are not prejudiced and that they truly are ignorant. I hope that by

learning about implicit biases, I can monitor my own and attempt to correct my hidden attitudes

before they are expressed through behavior.

Also, one of my majors is psychology and I thoroughly enjoy learning about theories and

research in cognition and behavior.

Next Steps
I will be visiting the PSYCInfo database to find more information on research about the

development of bias. I will also continue exploring Psychology Today and the American

Psychological Associations website to gather information on varying opinions on the

development and implementation of measures such as the Implicit Association Test. I have also

found books from Yale professor Mahzarin R. Banaji and her colleagues on their research on

hidden biases and what people can do to confront and combat them. I will also use information

from the Kirwan Institute, the Society for Human Resource Management, and other resources

that connect implicit bias to behavior to connect implicit bias with everyday life.
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My comments (wont show in the uploaded document unless typed here):

Yellow: I would expand on this interesting fact more, instead of stating she was

surprised. What implicit biases did she show? What did her results say? Does she

know what could have caused this?

Pink: Who are some? Are they a reliable source to voice an opinion on the subject?

Red: I would love to hear more about this in your paper itself. This was something

that really stood out to me and was a very powerful statement. What friends did you

lose? Were they long-time friends? If theyre political opinion was their only flaw,

would you still terminate the friendship?

Blue: This was a truly funny comment, and broke the tension of losing your friends

over this election.