Implicit Bias and How to Reduce it

About this course

Implicit bias refers to attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious way, making them difficult to control. It may present as biases against groups of people who have a different gender, sexual orientation, racial group, or ethnicity, and can occur anywhere, including the criminal justice system, healthcare system, schools, and workplace settings. This course provides an overview of implicit bias, test commonly used to identify it, and strategies to help reduce it once it is identified.

Learning objectives

• Define implicit bias
• Differentiate between implicit bias and explicit bias
• Understand how stereotypes influence implicit bias and how it affects patient care
• Review tests commonly used to help identify implicit bias
• Implement strategies to help reduce implicit bias within an organization

Course outline

17 sections · finish in any order across devices

1. 1

   Introduction

   Joanne is a Nursing Manager in an intensive care unit. She is interviewing nurses for an open position in her unit. During the interview process, Joanne’s decision to hire a nurse should be based only on the applicant’s qualifications. Joanne can achieve this by creating an environment that is condu

   4 min

2. 2

   Implicit Bias and Explicit Bias

   An implicit bias may be opposite of a person's conscious beliefs without them realizing it. ² For example, it is possible to like some parts of a certain social group or approving of a certain action, while simultaneously being biased against that group or action on an unconscious level, such as lik

   4 min

3. 3

   Gender Stereotypes

   Gender biases are another common form of implicit bias. Gender biases occur when men and women ae judged based on traditional masculine and feminine traits. ⁴ For instance, a male who expresses interest in nursing may be steered away from the field and instead be steered towards being a physician, b

   4 min

4. 4

   Health Care

   Healthcare is another setting where implicit bias is present. Racial and ethnic minorities and women are less likely to receive an accurate medical diagnosis, appropriate treatment options, are more likely to receive inadequate pain management, and are more likely to experience poor clinical outcome

   4 min

5. 5

   LGBTQ+ Community

   Just like racial and gender biases, people may also have implicit biases against members of the LGBTQ+ community. ²These biases may not be evident to the person who has them, and they may not be expressed openly. An example of this would be assuming that a woman or man is in a heterosexual relations

   4 min

6. 6

   Legal System

   Implicit biases can be highlighted in the legal system and with law enforcement. For instance, minorities are more likely to be stopped by law enforcement and incarcerated. The unconscious bias of perceiving a minority person as a threat, and then working to reduce the threat whether it exists or no

   4 min

7. 7

   Racial Stereotypes

   Unconscious racial stereotypes are one of the most prominent examples of implicit bias, which can occur when someone has an unconscious preference for one race over another without realizing it. This type of bias can manifest in small interpersonal interactions and can have a broader implication in

   4 min

8. 8

   Work

   Implicit bias is also present in the workplace. For instance, a study that tracked employment statuses of White and Black applicants found that applicants with stereotypically white names received more interviews than applicants with ethnic sounding names, regardless of the profession. This resulted

   4 min

9. 9

   Causes of Implicit Bias

   One of the main reasons people develop biases is because of the natural tendency of our brains to look for patterns and associations to make sense of the environment. ⁷ Even as early as the age of five, children group people based on traits (race, skin color, sex), and can distinguish the difference

   4 min

10. 10

    Implicit Attitude Test (IAT)

    An Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a psychological test whose objective is to reveal unconscious attitudes, automatic preferences, and hidden biases by measuring the time that it takes an individual to classify concepts into two categories. The IAT is taken online and must be performed as quickly

    4 min

11. 11

    Priming Test

    Priming Tests, also known as Associative Priming tests, are also implicit bias tests that are designed to measure the strength of association between two targets and primes. ⁶The targets are two categories that are compared, and the primes are the attributes that are tested to reveal associations to

    4 min

12. 12

    Mindfulness

    When under pressure, we are more likely to inappropriately rely on memory shortcuts that can lead to implicit bias. To reduce the risk, an individual should increase mindfulness by doing stress and pressure relieving activities such a meditation, yoga, or focused breathing exercises. Improving mindf

    4 min

13. 13

    Learn to slow down

    Before interacting with people from different groups, you should first pause and think before taking any actions that can cause bias. For instance, the next time you see behavior that is stereotypical of a group, pause to think about it. Then consider examples of people from that same group who are

    4 min

14. 14

    Individuation

    This tactic relies on evaluating people based on their own personal characteristics rather than the characteristics associated with their group. This could include connecting over shared interests. For instance, healthcare professionals must build relationships with patients to establish trust. Rela

    4 min

15. 15

    Institutionalize fairness

    Diversity and inclusion should be supported at the organizational level. Organizations have a responsibility to support a culture of diversity and inclusion because individual action is not enough to deconstruct systemic inequities. To overcome implicit bias throughout an organization, it should con

    4 min

16. 16

    Considerations

    Education is crucial. Understanding what implicit biases are, how they can arise, and how, to recognize them are important aspects in working towards overcoming such biases. Learning about other cultures and what language and behaviors may come off as offensive are critical as well. When something i

    4 min

17. 17

    Conclusion

    Raising awareness of implicit bias and reducing it is important, however individuals and organizations must make a concerted effort to increase participation and engagement of people belonging to underrepresented groups to achieve true diversity and inclusion. Studies show that health care professio

    4 min

This course satisfies

Requirement summaries come from our state requirement records. Always confirm details with your board before you renew.

References and resources

• Beeghly, E., & Madva, A. (2020). An introduction to implicit bias: Knowledge, justice, and the social mind. Routledge.
• (2022, March 8). Bitbrain. https://www.bitbrain.com/
• Eberhardt, J. L. (2020). Biased: Uncovering the hidden prejudice that shapes what we see, think, and do. Penguin.
• Gender stereotyping. (n.d.). OHCHR. https://www.ohchr.org/en/women/gender-stereotyping
• The harmful effects of racial stereotyping. (2021, September 9). Alliance Work Partners. https://www.awpnow.com/main/2020/06/29/the-harmful-effects-of-racial-stereotyping/
• (n.d.). Project Implicit. https://www.projectimplicit.net/
• Ruhl, C. (2020, July 1). Implicit bias is a type of unconscious bias. Study Guides for Psychology Students - Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/implicit-bias.html

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