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2 - Implicit Bias: What Is It?

from Section I - What is Implicit Bias and (How) Can We Measure It?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  aN Invalid Date NaN

By
Russell H. Fazio ,
Javier A. Granados Samayoa ,
Shelby T. Boggs  and
Jesse Ladanyi
Edited by
Jon A. Krosnick ,
Tobias H. Stark  and
Amanda L. Scott
Jon A. Krosnick
Affiliation:
Stanford University, California
Tobias H. Stark
Affiliation:
Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Amanda L. Scott
Affiliation:
The Strategy Team, Columbus, Ohio
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Summary

We offer a conceptual framework by which to consider implicit bias. In contrast to a far too common presumption that implicit bias involves unconscious attitudes and stereotypes, i.e., ones for which individuals lack awareness, we emphasize a view of implicit bias as an effect of attitudes of which individuals are unaware. The perspective is grounded in decades of social psychological theory and research concerning the constructive nature of perception and the potential biasing influence of attitudes on perceptions and judgments. Attitudes that are automatically activated from memory can exert such a biasing influence, without individuals’ awareness that they have been affected. We articulate the advantages of such a perspective for both the science and the politics of implicit bias. We also discuss how individuals can overcome the influence of an automatically activated attitude, given appropriate motivation and opportunity to do so, and briefly review evidence concerning the joint influence of these factors on prejudicial judgments and behavior.

Keywords

implicit biasprejudiceautomatically activated attitudesMODE modelimplicit measures
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism , pp. 75 - 96
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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