Smithsonian The Bias Inside Us Exhibit

Would you consider yourself to be prejudiced against people who are different from you? Most of us would say no. But in the late 1990s, researchers created a test to measure biases that may be hidden from our conscious minds. Millions of people have taken it since, and not everyone likes what they’ve discovered. This week, we launch a two-part look at implicit bias with psychologist Mahzarin Banaji. We ask how it is that we can hold negative stereotypes — without being aware of them.

In the second part of our series on implicit bias, we explore the relationship between beliefs and behaviors. We also talked with psychologist Mahzarin Banaji about whether research on implicit bias tells us more about groups than individuals.

The idea that people have biases that operate below the level of conscious thought is uncomfortable. But decades of research have found that many people who would never consciously agree with prejudiced statements against Black people, LGBTQ people, or women can nonetheless harbor implicit biases toward these groups and others. Mahzarin Banaji, PhD, one of the pioneers of implicit bias research, talks about where implicit biases come from, the difference between implicit bias and prejudice, and which biases have lessened—and which have not—in recent years.

In this episode, Tim speaks with activist and educator Hugh Vasquez of the National Equity Project about the role of subconscious bias in perpetuating racial inequities and how individuals and institutions can begin to undo the impact of these biases and create policies and practices that minimize the damage they can do. Hugh and Tim explore the research from the field of brain science and how that research can (and must) inform our strategies for addressing racism in our communities.