Introduction
Unconscious bias (UB) is now high on the corporate agenda of those looking to enhance organisational performance by engaging better with customers and by getting the most from staff. The market for awareness raising, e-learning and other interventions has grown exponentially. At times it seems like an race to be the first to use the latest UB training, testing or coaching tools.
This growth, urgency and the often shallow knowledge in application disguises a risk; UB can be seen as a seductively easy solution to part of a very real problem. The argument goes that if we make good people decisions we will understand our customers better (true), our staff will be happier (probably true) and our business will run better because we will have less conflict (probably true too). UB passes the elevator test in that it can be explained in minutes and its neurological base resonates with senior managers looking to move away from the often restrictive regime of the 'politically correct' diversity consultant. However, what many do not realise is that using poorly thought through unconscious bias interventions may actually trigger or increase bias rather than reduce or control it. Interventions have to be targeted and informed.
It's about wi-fi
The core problem is that many now trying to us UB management interventions continue to see it as a conscious process, as if we can apply conscious solutions to an unconscious problem. This mind set is at the core of application problems. What the brain experiences as neurons firing together, it quickly wires together neurologically in our pattern matching for future use. Unconscious bias (UB) is really about this automatic pattern matching capability and the human brain has developed a unique capability to respond not just from experience but from what we see and hear from others (including the media). Our unconscious truly is the basking shark of the neurological world, sifting and filtering vast amounts of data for patterns. We should not be surprised that occasionally it absorbs patterns we would rather it didn't, such as negative associations around some social groups which reinforce existing social stereotypes and which can impact our behaviour. This pattern matching can have unexpected and unwanted effects for those using bias interventions. If we offer our brains stereotypical imagery it will employ its patterns or create new ones reflecting that matching. It makes no assumptions about the intent of the user. Assuming that somehow our clever conscious mind can routinely over-ride this primitive pattern matching is a mistake. It is true that forming a conscious intent can help mitigate bias but if the experiences and materials we use to help the conscious reduce bias contains stereotypes (for example discussions about group stereotypes), then we should expect it to trigger our stereotypes and reinforce the pattern matching.
Bias suppression
Suppression is the anti-bias weapon of choice in most organisations. Just as discussing and priming stereotypes leads to their activation, suppressing stereotypes can lead to subsequent activation. Telling people not to use stereotypes may work in the short term but as soon as the control is removed or attention waivers the stereotypes bounce back, often stronger than had we not suppressed them. It is thought that the act of suppression triggers the stereotype, which we consciously control, but that eventually our resources are depleted and the bias exerts itself. Unless we know accurately what our biases are, so that we can be vigilant with certain groups in particular situations, it is nonsense to expect people to self monitor for every bias and stereotype in all situations.
Toxic sheep dipping
People with low bias towards a group are particularly susceptible to triggering dormant pattern matching. This can be the risk with implementing UB interventions without knowing the bias levels of an individual (which will differ with regards to a range of groups). In a recent study involving a range of tools developed to help reduce bias ( Jones, 2011) it was found that they were highly effective with people who already had strong biases but were as likely to increase as decrease bias in low bias people, it is argued because the materials used triggered groups stereotypes not usually accessed. This highlights the danger of UB interventions without knowing the existing bias levels of an individual, and involving them in discussions and even coaching around biases they don't have. The power of triggering stereotypes in low bias people (who generally form around 70% of the population) has been repeatedly seen in research and particular care needs to be taken with these people. E-learning can be a welcome addition to the bias management toolkit, but again the content should avoid using specific biases if low bias people are not to have their biases triggered.
Conclusions
If stereotype suppression simply triggers bias, and even discussing bias triggers bias, what are we to do? The obvious answer is not to try and suppress bias, but also try to minimise the impact of our interventions by using methods and tools which allow our natural bias control mechanisms to operate fully. At the core of this is self awareness and awareness of the existing bias levels of individuals as the effects described above are most prevalent in people with low bias . As individuals, having an awareness around our personal biases affords a great advantage. If we know that our biases are more active around some groups of people than others, and in particular situations, we can be more mindful about our behaviour with those groups at those times. The scattergun approaches of some training providers and consultants, in the mistaken belief that knowing more has to be good, is part of the problem and not the solution, which lies to well informed, knowledge led interventions which take account of what research has told us.
Reference
Jones, P.C (2011) Bias reduction at work; first pilots of a battery of bias reduction tools for organisational settings. British Psychological Society DOP Conference Stratford Upon Avon January 12th-14th. 2011 |
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