Implicit Bias Is Behavior: A Functional-Cognitive Perspective on Implicit Bias

Abstract

Implicit bias is often viewed as a hidden force inside people that makes them perform inappropriate actions. This perspective can induce resistance against the idea that people are implicitly biased and complicates research on implicit bias. I put forward an alternative perspective that views implicit bias as a behavioral phenomenon. more specifically, it is seen as behavior that is automatically influenced by cues indicative of the social group to which others belong. This behavioral perspective is less likely to evoke resistance because implicit bias is seen as something that people do rather than possess and because it clearly separates the behavioral phenomenon from its normative implications. Moreover, performance on experimental tasks such as the Implicit Association Test is seen an instance of implicitly biased behavior rather than a proxy of hidden mental biases. Because these tasks allow for experimental control, they provide ideal tools for studying the automatic impact of social cues on behavior, for predicting other instances of biased behavior, and for educating people about implicitly biased behavior. The behavioral perspective not only changes the way we think about implicit bias but also shifts the aims of research on implicit bias and reveals links with other behavioral approaches such as network modeling.

Reflecting on 25 Years of Research Using Implicit Measures: Recommendations for Their Future Use

“…Several decades of work have eroded our confidence in three key assumptions underpinning research on implicit measures, and scholars have grown increasingly uncertain whether those measures can (a) shed light on specific types of mental processes (Schimmack, 2019), (b) be used for predicting behavior in unique and substantial ways (Jost, 2019), and (c) represent reliable and valid measures of the construct of interest (Mitchell & Tetlock, 2017). This work has in turn led to growing doubt about the nature, role, and utility of implicit measures in general (e.g., De Houwer, 2019;Jost, 2019;Payne et al, 2017). In what follows, we offer recommendations designed to improve research on implicit measures in the years to come.…”

Women’s Representation Among Members and Leaders of National Medical Specialty Societies

“…constituted a substantial proportion of trainees (e.g., pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology), remarkably few women (especially when considered in absolute numbers rather than percentages) have achieved leadership positions. A number of other well recognized phenomena, including stereotype threat 16 and implicit bias, 17 likely contribute to the relative paucity of women seeking or receiving leadership positions. Male-dominated nomination processes, frequently led by former elected leaders, may perpetuate a lack of diversity if leaders focus on identifying and cultivating those who remind them of their younger selves.…”

On the Uncanny Similarities Between Police Brutality and Client Mistreatment

“…This lack of data may be due to difficulties defining or conceptualizing bias (Amodio & Mendoza, 2010;Carter et al, 2017;Gilliam et al, 2016) or aversion to the discussion of racial biases (Howell et al, 2015;Sukhers et al, 2018). However, utilizing a behavioral perspective to define bias as something that people do rather than something that people possess enables empirical evaluation of the subject (De Houwer, 2019). This paper utilizes De Houwer's (2019) definition of racial bias, which is "behavior that is influenced in an implicit manner by cues that function as an indicator of the social group to which others belong" (p. 835).…”