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Samantha Sargent
EDU 704
Assignment 2: Testing Your Hidden Bias

According to Pope and Reynolds, characteristics of a multiculturally competent Student

Affairs practitioner include awareness, skills, and knowledge. The implicit association test

measures attitudes and beliefs individuals may be unwilling or unable to report. I was first

exposed to the implicit association test at my undergraduate institution, the University of

Connecticut, during my psychology classes. Although I do not remember the results of the tests I

took during these particular classes. The three tests I completed for Multicultural Issues in

Student Affairs were race, sexuality, and age. I believe the implicit association test was not

completely accurate in depicting my perceptions about race, sexuality, and age.

The results of my race test suggested a moderate automatic preference for European

Americans over African Americans. I was slightly surprised by the results of this test because I

did not believe I was guilty of this bias. After further self reflection, I reasoned this automatic

preference for European Americans to be an in-group bias. The in-group bias is the tendency of

individuals to favor their own group. This preference also may be due to how I was raised. The

small farm town I was raised in did not have much diversity, with eighty percent of the town

identifying as white. Every year a certain percentage of students from low socioeconomic areas,

such as Hartford County, would be bused into our school district. The reasoning behind this was

school integration; to have students from the city join students from the suburbs. This slightly

increased the diversity in the school system, but our school still decided to not engage in

conversations about diversity and how our individual biases can affect decision-making. Since

we did not have these discussions about diversity throughout high school, I was not made aware

of the importance of this topic in our society.

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The results of the sexuality test suggest a moderate automatic preference for straight

individuals over gay individuals. I am not surprised by this particular implicit test result because

I was not exposed to the LGBTQIA+ community until I was in college. The town I was raised in

also had a very high percentage of heterosexual individuals. This limited exposure to the

LGBTIA+ community caused me to have incomplete ideas about this population. Once in

college, there were opportunities to attend events put on by the LGBTQ Center to educate

myself.

Lastly, the data from the age test suggests a moderate automatic preference for young

people over old people. I believed the result of this test would be no preference due to my prior

life experiences and therefore I was quite surprised by this result. I stated I believed the implicit

associated test was not completely accurate in depicting my perceptions about age because I do

not completely understand the underlying methods behind the test. With the implicit association

age test there is no age bracket given for who is considered young or old people. Growing up, my

parents instilled in my brothers and I the importance of respecting our grandparents and valuing

the relationship we have with them. The last five years I have spent living with my seventy-nine

year old grandfather and this has given us a truly unique bond. Although I have always respected

older generations, living with my grandfather around the clock has given me a different

perspective. I have become more patient and giving towards older generations. On the other

hand, I also work at a camp for children with life threatening illnesses. This job has given me a

great deal of patience and shown me how important it is for children to have role models. These

experiences have greatly shaped who I am and this is why I was surprised by the results of the

age test.
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Based on the results of the three tests I took, it is necessary for me to reevaluate and

consider what the impact of my decisions will be on different populations. In many instances

split second decisions are made based on biases each individual holds and this can be quite

problematic. One action I will take moving forward is when assessing the performance of an

individual from a stigmatized group, such as African Americans, I will focus on the concrete

positive and negative factors, rather than my gut feelings. I will also make a conscious effort to

assess and think about members of stereotyped groups as individuals and how each individual

may differ from the given expectations. Lastly, I will take the time to talk to groups and

individuals who have different identities than myself. This will give me an opportunity to learn

more about the various identities and perspectives and how this affects their daily life. By

interacting with other groups I will hopefully overcome the biases and stereotypes I hold.

I found this exercise assisted me to understand my own biases because before taking the

implicit association test I did not believe I had a bias toward race, age, or sexuality. However,

without my knowledge, these hidden biases could have affected my actions and behavior. After

completing these three implicit association tests, I can now be conscious of the decisions I make,

which lead to my actions. I realize the importance of slowing down to think about the decisions I

make which can have consequences not only for myself, but also other individuals around me.

Based on the results of the three different implicit association tests, there are several

items I will need to consider in order to develop multicultural competencies. One characteristic

of a multiculturally competent student affairs practitioner is in the category of multicultural

awareness. Practitioners must have a willingness to self-examine and, when necessary, challenge

and change their own values, worldview, assumptions, and biases. In order to develop this

competency I will need to continue to examine my biases, as I did with the implicit association
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test, and if needed change my actions moving forward. In the category of multicultural

knowledge, it is important for me to have the correct information about culturally appropriate

resources and know how to make referrals. This competency is important because my students

rely on me to support and inform them with the necessary resources when faced with a

challenge. In order to develop this multicultural competency, I need to continue to research the

on campus offices, along with the Salem area to know and understand the resources, which are

available to students. Lastly, in multicultural skills I hope to have the ability to gain the trust and

respect of individuals who are culturally different from myself. To acquire this competency, I

need to develop a relationship with my students, which will lead to their gaining their trust.

While developing a relationship it is important to take the time to listen and validate my students

feelings to understand their culture and how this may affect their studies.