Consequences of attributing discrimination to implicit vs. explicit bias

Moving Beyond Implicit Bias Training: Policy Insights for Increasing Organizational Diversity

“…For example, organizations should consider using language in their messaging that signals inclusion to their underrepresented members, rather than language that might undermine accountability for their well-represented members. As mentioned earlier, messaging that attributes discrimination to implicit bias rather than explicit bias reduces accountability and punishment for perpetrators of discrimination (Daumeyer et al, 2019; Daumeyer et al, 2020). Instead, diversity messaging can increase trust and reduce performance gaps for members of marginalized groups.…”

“…Second, when asked to take responsibility for their implicit bias, those low in motivation to respond without prejudice, who are important targets for diversity training, actually express more negative explicit bias against Black people and are less likely to donate to Black organizations (Cooley et al, 2018). Third, when incidents of discrimination are framed in terms of implicit bias rather than explicit bias, observers hold perpetrators less accountable and are less willing to punish them (Daumeyer et al, 2019; Daumeyer et al, 2020). Charles Scharf’s decision to attribute his comments to unconscious, or implicit, bias might have served to mitigate his culpability for the underrepresentation of Black employees at the bank he chairs.…”

Motivations to Control Prejudice Bias Performance Feedback in Developmental Relationships

“…For individuals, increased societal and organizational focuses on implicit and explicit biases and prejudices can lead to increases in both internal as well as external motivations to control prejudice. Further, increased knowledge of biases may result in inaction, suppression of bias, avoidance of intergroup interaction, or other behaviors that are detrimental to cross-racial engagement broadly (Daumeyer, Onyeador, Brown, & Richeson, 2019;Onyeador, 2017). It may important to focus on destigmatizing bias in favor of recognizing that all individuals can grow into better allies and support systems for underrepresented minorities and in turn provide more accurate developmental feedback.…”

Behavioral and Physiological Evidence Challenges the Automatic Acquisition of Evaluations

“…Drawing on automatic evaluative learning may facilitate people’s acceptance of their prejudice. Unfortunately, this may also normalize prejudice (Eberhardt & Banks, 2019) and undermine accountability for social discrimination (Daumeyer, Onyeador, Brown, & Richeson, 2019). That is, if mental associations about social groups build up unconsciously and uncontrollably, one may consider that people are not so much responsible for holding them.…”