Unpacking Unconscious Bias

Have you ever heard the term ‘unconscious bias’? Also known as “intrinsic bias”, one definition is “unsupported judgments in favor of or against one thing, person, or group as compared to another, in a way that is usually considered unfair.” When speaking of bias, either unconscious or not, it’s often things like gender, race, social class, etc that are discussed, which are very important conversations to have. But how about the self? Can you harbor unconscious bias toward yourself?

The Origins of Our Biases

Think about the beliefs that you hold most dear–those deep-seated ideas and ways of seeing the world– so often those “core beliefs” are driven by things we don’t think about, right? The life we were born into, the choices available because of that, the community in which we live, the way we were raised, the books we read as children or in school, the things our elders taught us..the list goes on. The truth is, bias is not something you can control – most emerge during middle childhood and appear to develop across childhood (Dore, 2014).

Becoming Aware and Minimizing Impact

However, studies show that you CAN learn to minimize the impact of the unconscious bias that you have. One of the steps to take is simply to increase your awareness.

So, folks, consider this:

What’s one ‘bias’ you think you may have—toward yourself or others—right now, and how might you start to unpack it?

Here’s an example: I grew up as a very quiet child — “shy” was a label that got attached at an early age, including from the people who loved me the most. So now as an adult, it’s important for me to acknowledge my quiet nature, since it’s a big part of who I am, but not let it influence how I operate in the world in a negative way.

Next Steps

1. Reflect on your own childhood and consider labels that may have been given to you.
2. Journal about potential biases you hold towards yourself or others.
3. Actively challenge these biases when they surface in your thoughts or actions.

Research reference

Dore, R. (2014). The development of implicit social cognition. Child Development Perspectives, 8(4), 256-261.