Unconscious Bias Explained: How to Address Unconscious Bias

Unconscious biases—also known as implicit biases—are stereotypes individuals hold outside of their conscious awareness about certain groups of people. They often take the form of mental shortcuts such as snap judgments or gut decisions. Common examples of unconscious bias extend to race, sexual orientation, age, gender, religion, weight, physical abilities, and more. Unconscious biases can negatively affect job applicants during the hiring process, employees during performance reviews, and team members working together in the workplace. Working professionals who evaluate their biases can work to create more equitable, inclusive, and diverse teams.

There are many unconscious biases that people exhibit. Consider some examples of common biases.

1. 1. Affinity bias: This form of bias—also known as similarity bias—refers to the tendency to show favor to a person, company, or business due to a similarity or personal connection. For instance, an individual whose favorite music genre is jazz may view fellow jazz fans more favorably than fans of other music genres.
2. 2. Attribution bias: This bias refers to the tendency to attribute someone’s particular behaviors to existing, unfounded stereotypes. For instance, when someone on your team is late to an important meeting, you may assume they are lazy or lacking motivation without considering internal and external factors like an illness or traffic accident that led to tardiness.
3. 3. Conformity bias: Also known as peer pressure, conformity bias refers to people's tendency to act like those around them despite their own personal beliefs. For instance, an employee may not share their individual opinion with a group if the majority of the group has expressed an opposing opinion.
4. 4. Racial bias: Racial bias refers to the stereotyping of groups of people based on the color of their skin, their race, or their ethnicity. As with other biases, racial bias may happen outside of an individual's cognitive awareness.
5. 5. Beauty bias: This bias refers to the tendency to allow someone's physical appearance to influence your perception of how successful, competent, or qualified they are.
6. 6. Gender bias: Under the broader umbrella of sexism, gender bias is the tendency to prefer one gender over another.
7. 7. The halo effect: The halo effect refers to the tendency to allow your impression of a person, company, or business in one domain to positively influence your overall impression of the person or entity.
8. 8. The horns effect: The horns effect is the exact opposite of the halo effect. It refers to the tendency to allow your impression of a person, company, or business in one domain to negatively influence your overall impression of the person or entity.
9. 9. Confirmation bias: This type of bias refers to the tendency to seek out information that supports something you already believe. It is a subset of cognitive bias, a broad term for subconscious errors in thinking. Confirmation bias occurs when people cue into things that matter to them and dismiss the things that don’t. This is sometimes called the “ostrich effect” where a person figuratively buries their head in the sand to avoid information that may disprove their original point or judgment.

Unconscious biases can have negative effects in the workplace. Consider a few common examples of how bias can affect the workplace.

1. 1. Prevents diversity: When unconscious biases impact hiring decisions, minority groups are often prevented from entering the workplace. Hiring managers can take special care to view resumes objectively so as not to allow their own biases to impact their impression of job applicants.
2. 2. Creates unfair advantages: Mentorships, promotions, and bonuses may be granted unfairly when decision-making processes are influenced by unconscious bias. Managers can consider implementing performance reviews that are standardized to counteract potential biases.
3. 3. Decreases job satisfaction: When unconscious biases go unchecked in the workplace, employees are more likely to feel isolated. This can have serious implications for the overall morale of the workplace.

Addressing unconscious bias can help create more diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Consider a few ways to address your own biases.

1. 1. Be aware. Preventing bias from influencing the way you think or make decisions starts by developing an awareness of your own biases. Critical thinking can help you mitigate bias. By knowing that certain factors can alter the way you see, experience, or recall things, you can then take additional steps to form a more accurate judgment or opinion about something or someone. Consider taking the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to help you make an assessment of your unconscious biases.
2. 2. Find a mentor. Unconscious biases are difficult to identify on your own because they are by definition occurring outside of your conscious awareness. Finding a mentor who can hold you accountable for your behaviors in the workplace is one way to manage your own unconscious biases.
3. 3. Enroll in unconscious bias training. Unconscious bias training helps team members learn how to be aware of their biases by providing tools to help them address their blind spots and change their behaviors.
4. 4. Engage in regular diversity training. Implement a regular training program to ensure the entire workforce is sensitive to the needs of each demographic in their workplace. Employees may behave in an insensitive manner without even realizing it, but well-structured diversity training can help prevent that from happening.

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