The Biological Origins of Bias
By Gary M. Wederspahn
“It is easy for us to criticize the prejudices of our grandfathers…It is much more difficult
to distance ourselves from our own views, so that we can dispassionately search for
prejudices among the beliefs and values we hold.”
--Peter Singer in Practical Ethics, 1993
According to analysis conducted by a Harvard University-led research team, it is likely
that you and the clients you train and coach are biased even if you and they deny it. As
reported in the February 2006 issue of HR Magazine, the team developed the Implicit
Association Test (IAT) as part of a project to detect bias based on age, gender, sexual
orientation, physical disability, race, national origin and other characteristics. They found
that the highest levels of bias (70 percent or more) were directed at blacks, the elderly,
the disabled, the overweight and other stigmatized groups. Furthermore, minorities
themselves had internalized the same biases as majority groups.
Mahazarin Banaji, a young woman from southern India, was a lead researcher in the
study. She explains in the June 2006 Scientific American that even people with egalitarian
values, who profess them selves to free of prejudice, nevertheless are influenced by
hidden bias. She and her colleagues found that bias is universal and ingrained remaining
outside of our conscious awareness. Psychologist Elizabeth Phelps at New York
University used brain imaging technology to demonstrate the biological basis of fear of
outsiders. She induced into her research subjects fear associations with many different
stimuli and then measured how they responded to desensitization techniques. She found
that racial fears proved to be the most persistent. Her work was reported in the August 6,
2005 New Scientist.
A team of Italian neuroscientists at the University of Parma discovered a mechanism for
rapidly spreading fear and alarm between members of a group. Their work, described in
the November 2006 Scientific American, identified a special class of neurons in primate
and human brains they named “mirror cells.” These cells instantly detect intentions and
emotions in others at a nonverbal level. Therefore, bias may be easily communicated
within a group without a word being spoken.
The ability of an individual and a group to quickly note differences in others makes
evolutionary sense. In humanity’s distant past, outsiders often were competitors or
potential enemies. Automatically detecting such possible threats led to survival. But in
today’s multicultural and diverse workplace, unconscious bias leads to many problems
and it has many implications for managing diversity. Most importantly perhaps,
managers (and the trainers and coaches who hope to help them) must recognize and admit
to themselves that their perceptions, judgments, and decisions are likely to be subtly
influenced by hidden biases. This self-awareness will enable them to monitor their own
behavior and avoid unintentional prejudice. Likewise, they will be more alert to evidence
of bias on the part of their subordinates and coworkers in order to take appropriate action
promptly.
If unconscious bias is seen as universal, normal, and inevitable it need not be considered
a source of shame, guilt or a personal defect. Instead, it can be dealt with openly and
managed as an entirely expected human characteristic. Biology is not necessarily
destiny. The research shows that positive personal interaction between people from
different ethic, racial and cultural backgrounds leads to a reduction in the neurological
markers of bias. Well-designed diversity and intercultural training and coaching delivered
by skilled professionals who are fully aware of the depth and extent of the challenge, has
the best chance of facilitating this change.
We practitioners have the responsibility to keep ourselves informed of scientific
developments that shed light on our assumptions, beliefs and practices. Likewise, we
need to share the profound implications of this research with our colleagues and clients.
Byline:
Gary M. Wederspahn is an intercultural, consultant, coach, trainer and speaker. He is
author of Intercultural Services: A Worldwide Buyer’s Guide and Sourcebook. He can
be reached online at www.intercultural-help.com.