Implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. Typically you are even aware of youhave made an assessment.
This could be as asimple as someone dressed in dirty torn clothes appoaching you on the street. Thier purpose may be to ask for directions.
Many would unconciously assess this person as a beggar just from their dress and depending on your bias toward street charity, you may take action to avoid them or draw out your money before they even reach you (embarrassing if all they seek is directions).
Consequences
Implicit bias can have positive or negative consequences depending on the context or your perspective. If the afformentioned example did involve someone seeking a donation and you successfully avoided them, for you the conseqence could be positive. For the person in need, not so much.
The main drawback to implicit or unconcious bias is your behaviour might not be appropriate or more importantly might not be what would choose to do, given some thoughtful analysis.
This could lead to regret or even second guessing on your part. What if I had just thought about it, I probably would not have done that.
Conscious Bias
Closely associated with the automatic bias, is the case where a bias is acted on purposefully because the benefits are thought to outweigh the consequences.
Police and customs agents are well known for this approach. Identifying a smuggler or a miscreant before the crime is committed can be very difficult.
Profiling and targeting based on statistical analysis can be a shortcut to this identification, although it’s easily seen this approach can catch innocents in it’s net.
Whether concious or unconcious, bias is a behaviour to be avoided as much as possible. Self awareness and reasoned analysis may take more effort, but as with most things greater effort/better results.
