Unconscious Bias: Understanding Implicit Biases

Study Notes

Unconscious bias, also known as implicit bias, refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner.
These biases are often formed outside of our conscious awareness, based on exposure to societal stereotypes and cultural norms.

Affinity bias: the tendency to favor people who are similar to us.
Confirmation bias: the tendency to seek out information that confirms our existing beliefs.
Anchoring bias: the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information we receive.
Availability heuristic: the tendency to overestimate the importance of information that is readily available.
Stereotyping: the tendency to assign oversimplified characteristics to groups of people.

Hiring and promotion: unconscious bias can influence hiring decisions, leading to a lack of diversity in the workplace.
Performance evaluations: bias can affect how we evaluate employee performance, leading to unfair treatment.
Customer interactions: bias can influence how we interact with customers, leading to poor service and lost business.

Blind hiring: removing identifiable information from resumes to reduce bias.
Diverse interview panels: involving a diverse group of people in the hiring process to reduce bias.
Training and education: educating employees on unconscious bias and its impact.
Mentorship programs: pairing employees with mentors from different backgrounds to promote understanding and empathy.
Regular feedback and evaluation: regularly seeking feedback and evaluating ourselves to identify and address bias.

Also known as implicit bias, it refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner.

Affinity bias: favoring people who are similar to us.
Confirmation bias: seeking out information that confirms our existing beliefs.
Anchoring bias: relying too heavily on the first piece of information we receive.
Availability heuristic: overestimating the importance of readily available information.
Stereotyping: assigning oversimplified characteristics to groups of people.

Blind hiring: removing identifiable information from resumes to reduce bias.
Diverse interview panels: involving a diverse group of people in the hiring process to reduce bias.
Training and education: educating employees on unconscious bias and its impact.
Mentorship programs: pairing employees with mentors from different backgrounds to promote understanding and empathy.
Regular feedback and evaluation: regularly seeking feedback and evaluating ourselves to identify and address bias.