THE CAUSE: Exploring implicit bias and supporting the National Conference for Community and Justice of Greater Dayton who work to eliminate bias, bigotry and discrimination through educational workshops, youth leadership development programs, and community advocacy.
THE CHALLENGE: For every 75 minutes of activity tracked between 3/15/23 and 3/29/23, we will donate $2.40 to the National Conference for Community and Justice of Greater Dayton. This challenge ends at 11:59 PM EST on 3/29/23. Submissions will be accepted until 3/31/2023 at 11:59 PM EST.
THE WHY: Implicit bias or unconscious bias is a form of bias that happens unintentionally and automatically which impacts judgments, decisions, and behavior. These are formed without us knowing they are there and are shaped by our experiences, information we see or hear, the stories we are told, and the experiences of others. This is because our brains like to be efficient and take this information to create cognitive shortcuts. Whether we like it or not, we all make unfair assumptions about others from time to time based on these cognitive shortcuts, but we often don’t realize we are doing it.
About 75% of people in each of five racial groups studied showed some degree of implicit bias (Morin, 2015). Moreover, implicit racial bias is about 2.4x stronger than explicit racial bias (Kang, 2014). Why is this problematic? Because without being aware of and making an effort to challenge those biases, people may unknowingly engage in discriminatory behavior which can in turn perpetuate systemic and structural racism. Research has shown implicit bias has impacted healthcare practices and outcomes, education outcomes, who gets callbacks for jobs, the use of force by police officers–among many others. The Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling Against Racism and Racial Discrimination begins on March 21. To show your commitment to eliminating bias and discrimination, we would love for you to join this challenge. On top of the challenge, we have some special resources, videos, and links to tests you can take to measure your own implicit bias related to race, gender, age, sexual orientation, etc.
Bell, S. B., Farr, R., Ofosu, E., Hehman, E., & DeWall, C. N. (2021). Implicit bias predicts less willingness and less frequent adoption of black children more than explicit bias. The Journal of Social Psychology, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2021.1975619
Chin, M. J., Quinn, D. M., Dhaliwal, T. K., & Lovison, V. S. (2020). Bias in the air: A nationwide exploration of teachers’ implicit racial attitudes, aggregate bias, and student outcomes. Educational Researcher, 49(8), 566-578. https://doi.org/10.3102%2F0013189X20937240
Hehman, E., Flake, J.K., & Calanchini, J. (2018). Disproportionate use of lethal force in policing is associated with regional racial biases of residents. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 9, 393-401.
Implicit Bias. 2023. UCLA Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. https://equity.ucla.edu/know/implicit-bias/
McCombs School of Business. (2018, Oct 31). Implicit Bias | Concepts Unwrapped. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoBvzI-YZf4
Morin, Rich. 2015. “Exploring Racial Bias Among Biracial and Single-Race Adults: The IAT, ”Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C.: August 19, 2015. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2015/08/19/exploring-racial-bias-among-biracial-and-single-race-adults-the-iat/
Mythbusters: Implicit Bias Edition. The Ohio State University Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. https://kirwaninstitute.osu.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/mythbusters.pdf
Orchard, J., & Price, J. (2017). County-level racial prejudice and the black-white gap in infant health outcomes. Social Science & Medicine, 181, 191-198.
Payne, B. K., Vuletich, H. A., & Brown-Iannuzzi, J. L. (2019). Historical roots of implicit bias in slavery. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(24), 11693-11698.
Splan, E. D., Magerman, A. B., & Forbes, C. E. (2021). Associations of Regional Racial Attitudes with Chronic Illness in the United States. Social Science & Medicine, 114077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114077
Starck, J. G., Riddle, T., Sinclair, S., & Warikoo, N. (2020). Teachers Are People Too: Examining the Racial Bias of Teachers Compared to Other American Adults. Educational Researcher. 49(4), 273-284, doi:10.3102/0013189X20912758
TEDx Talks. (2014, Jan 28). Immaculate perception: Jerry Kang at TEDxSanDiego 2013. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VGbwNI6Ssk