The phenomenon of implicit bias is much discussed but little understood. This article answers basic conceptual and empirical questions about implicit bias, including what it is, how it is measured, what effects it may have on behavior, and whether it can be changed. Consensus now exists among implicit bias researchers that current measures of implicit bias cannot reliably identify who will or will not discriminate in any given situation and that programs aimed at changing implicit bias produce very limited effects. Despite hopes that implicit bias research would lead to new and better understandings of how and why discrimination occurs, the empirical reality is that implicit bias research has not yet improved our ability to predict and prevent discrimination.
Citation
Gregory Mitchell, An Implicit Bias Primer, 25 Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law, 27–57 (2018).