Implicit Association
We have unconscious mental links between concepts that influence our judgments and behavior.
Implicit associations are unconscious cognitive links between concepts (e.g., race and competence, gender and career) that influence attitudes and behaviors without conscious awareness. Measured by the Implicit Association Test (IAT), these associations are formed through cultural exposure and can drive discriminatory behavior even in people who consciously endorse equal treatment. They are faster, more automatic, and harder to control than explicit attitudes.
What it looks like in the wild.
- Workplace Resume Callback Bias Studies find identical resumes receive fewer callbacks when the name sounds stereotypically associated with an ethnic minority, revealing implicit associations between race and perceived competence even among hiring managers who explicitly oppose discrimination.
Recognising a definition is not the same skill as spotting it.
Two scenarios from the app, with distractors drawn from the same family of biases — which is what makes them hard.
Natasha is more likely to trust a financial advisor who wears an expensive suit and drives a luxury car.
A hiring manager is more inclined to give a promotion to a candidate who plays golf, just like the company's top executives.
Biases rarely arrive alone.
Understand more. Assume less.
188 biases, 18,869 scenarios, and a record of how you actually decide.
Get Debias on Google Play