Implicit Biases…Everyone’s Got Some

Nearly every person you meet shows up with some degree of bias. Oftentimes, these biases are implicit, meaning under the surface of conscious awareness. Then again, some folks show up with biases that are front and center in their thoughts and behaviors, making them explicit. Knowing your implicit biases can help you better see, hear, understand, value, and validate others simply because you know what is under your thoughts. 

Anyone who collaborates with me knows I never ask anyone to do anything I am unwilling to do myself. So, to that end, I took two implicit bias tests to try to surface my own implicit biases that I might be unaware of sitting below my consciousness. For myself, I look at racial and religious bias. Considering my overall approach to life, I discovered what I discovered was interesting but also about right. 

First, I looked at Black-White racial bias. The implicit association test reported to me that I tend to more quickly associate ‘White people’ with ‘bad’ and ‘Black people’ with ‘good’ over the opposite. Based on my own experiences of discrimination throughout my life, I was not surprised by this moderately faster association result. 

Then, I looked at Islam-Judaism bias. I am not well-versed in either religion. The implicit association test reported to me that I have a slight automatic preference for Islam over Judaism, which was surprising to me since I am expressly non-religious. If this implicit bias test is accurate, I wondered if this slight preference might stem from media reports or other influences across American society and culture.  

As the title of this blog suggests, everyone has biases. As a therapist, knowing one’s biases can be helpful in the delivery of counseling services. A therapist needs to understand how their implicit biases might influence their approach to treatment. Why? Because implicit bias can lead to poor health outcomes and disparities. 

Back to the implicit bias assessment: Just like any assessment you ever take, the results are only a snapshot of what you were thinking and how you felt when you responded. So, any implicit bias results you are offered due to an assessment like the ones I took do not mean you have always been biased or will always be biased in the future. Rather, the assessment is simply like a photo on your phone; just who you were in a split second the photo was taken. 

Okay, so now it’s your turn. Taking a test like those I referenced above takes courage and bravery, much like expressing my results in this blog. But, surfacing implicit biases can benefit everyone, not just healthcare professionals. If you want to explore implicit biases and take an assessment or two, consider using the assessments offered via Project Implicit. 

If you are interested in talking about your implicit biases, take a seat. Let’s talk.