A web developer and programmer, Siobahn Hotaling serves as a senior user experience designer for Global Payments. Having recently graduated from Harvard Extension School with a master’s in psychology, she is also a project consultant working in research and development at the Adaption Institute. In this capacity, Siobahn Hotaling continues her research into implicit bias.
Implicit bias is one of two main types of psychological bias. It refers to biases that operate outside of someone’s awareness, or in their unconscious. Since people are unaware of these biases, implicit bias influences their behavior automatically, despite often going against the person’s values and beliefs. In contrast, explicit bias (or conscious bias) also controls a person’s behavior, but they are aware of this control and know that they have prejudices against certain groups or people. Due to explicit bias, someone may deliver a hate speech or feel threatened by another group. These two biases are related, but also stand apart from one another. Because people are unaware of implicit bias, they may have biases that do not line up with their explicit ideas. For instance, a person could consciously love a particular group of people while unconsciously believing certain stereotypes about this group and behaving in a way that reflects that. It’s also important that people understand that implicit bias can become explicit bias. This happens when a person becomes consciously aware of the beliefs and prejudices they hold. Being aware of this does not mean they will automatically start behaving in a way that reflects their biased ideas. Rather, they have a choice between acting on or against these biases.
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AuthorSiobahn Hotaling - Project Consultant at Adaption Institute. Archives
November 2022
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