Intrinsic Bias - Cultural Gender and Other Hidden Biases; How They are Hidden From Ourselves

This is an old riddle:

A man and his son are taking a ride in the car when they get into a terrible accident. The son is terribly injured with shattered bones. The father is killed. The son is rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, is admitted, and goes into surgery. The surgeon walks in and says, "I can't operate on this young man, he is my son!"

Who is the surgeon? Didn't the young man's father get killed in the car crash? What is going on?

Click here to see the answer.

It is difficult to face, but we all have implicit bias. It is possible, and even probable that you have kept those biases silent within you, even from your own mind. Stereotyping shapes our words, thoughts and actions every day. These biases can have deadly effects in the world.

We all have an intrinsic bias leading us to research things to prove our opinions. We gravitate toward being around like-minded people and have unconscious aversion to people who are not like us. It is vital we become aware of these intrinsic biases to combat them because they are intrinsic. We are most often unaware of them.

Researching how our minds find differences is an effective way to allow for social reform and it is an essential part to finding peace for ourselves and in the world around us.

In her new book Blind Spot, social psychologist Mahzarin Banaji describes the unearthing of her own bias against women - a bias she is consciously unaware of but that sneaks up on her in unexpected places. Blind Spot challenges our assumptions that we are assessing others without racism, sexism, etc. It also brings our awareness to the fact that we may not know what we are truly thinking. Banaji's work especially highlights that we can be biased against ourselves and not be aware of it.

You can become more aware of your biases by taking some tests on Project Implicit to educate yourself about your own hidden biases.

Whether or not you experience bias yourself, it is crucial to recognize and believe others when they communicate they have been the victim of bias and discrimination. Carter, R. T., & Sant-Barket, S. M. (2015) developed an assessment to measure the impact of racial discrimination and racism and the resulting traumatic stress symptoms of those who have suffered discrimination. The study by Carter, Et. al., (2015) stated,

Zola was a 40-year-old, middle class, Black woman who claimed she was harmed by a racially hostile work         environment. Her complaints involved racial bias associated with issues of unequal pay, being forced to work overtime, changes in her performance evaluations, and unwarranted close supervision.
Zola stated during the assessment interview that she experienced chest pains while at home one day and that she was taken to the emergency room (ER), where she was kept to determine the basis for her ailment. Her physical episode turned out to be a panic attack. She also reported high levels of anxiety, headaches, and episodes of trembling before she would go to work. While at work, she started to have memory loss that got worse over time. At work and home she was unable to concentrate or to calm her thoughts. The work situation affected many aspects of her family relationships. A corroborative interviewee supported her account of her behavior and emotional state.

The description highlights the failure of Zola's work environment to recognize the ramifications of ignoring their bias and Zola's resulting experience of trauma that effected her every day living.

Just having awareness of your own implicit bias is the first step. It is up to us to be aware and do everything in our power to become aware and balance out the biases we carry to bring justice, peace and equality to the world around us. 

Chloe Edgar, LCSW

References

Carter, R. T., & Sant-Barket, S. M. (2015). Assessment of the impact of racial discrimination and racism: How to use the Race-Based Traumatic Stress Symptom Scale in practice. Traumatology, 21(1), 32-39. doi:10.1037/trm0000018

Stigma can be damaging to the 1 in 5 people with a mental illness. Find out how you can help.

It is so easy to pass labels around. The barista with the strange hairdo is a weirdo, the classmate we sat next to in English 101 is a nut-job for reminding the professor we have homework. The man talking to himself and dancing on the corner is a schizo. The girl who cannot sit still in your daughter's classroom is a spazz. These labels are freely passed around, but they can be truly damaging and can diminish the seriousness of someone's mental disorder.

When stigma becomes entrenched in a person, family and community it may prevent someone from seeking life-saving help, may lead to lack of empathy for those afflicted and could eventually lead to isolation, deter someone from getting needed help and even lead to violence, homelessness and death in extreme cases.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness states, "only 41% of adults with a mental condition received mental health services in the past year. Among adults with a serious mental illness, 62.9% received mental health services in the past year."

The people with a diagnosis of a mental illness may be hidden among us. It is important to remember that these are people with a diagnosis of a mental illness instead of letting the mental illness define them. In other words people are not a schizophrenic. Those diagnosed with mental illness are first and foremost people with an illness who can get better with proper treatment. That may mean different things for each person. It is important to find a therapist who will work with you, as opposed to dictating treatment to you, to find the best interventions to fit your needs.

or more information go to the National Alliance on Mental Illness website and take the stigma-free pledge.