Types of Bias: Barriers to Authentic Advocacy
At Dressember our vision is to advocate for the dignity of all people. We imagine a world in which all people are free, and as an anti-trafficking organization, we would be remiss not to identify the link between race and trafficking. Looking at the racial tensions and injustice of our day, one thing is clear: we must learn to set aside our comfort and our differences, lock arms, and embrace one another if we are to make any sort of progress.
This blog post covers one of the biggest (and often undetected) barriers to this vision: bias. In the words that follow, I hope to help you become aware of your bias, learn to combat it and create a personal action plan to engage your neighbors in your own community and context. Next week we will be sharing 4 habits to break bias, but first, let’s talk about what bias is and where it comes on.
Where does bias come from?
The truth is, ALL of us are biased. Each of us come into this world with a set of values and cultural norms passed down from our family of origin and/or primary community. It’s human nature. To put it simply, if you have a brain, you have biases.
Explicit bias is defined as “attitudes and beliefs we have about a person or group on a conscious level.” Examples of explicit bias include microaggressions (a subtle discriminatory statement or action against members of a marginalized group) and overtly racist acts.
Unconscious (or implicit) bias is the “unintended, subtle, and unconscious thought that happens to most people most of the time.” In other words, your automatic responses. Examples of this include affinity bias (the tendency to gravitate toward and warm up to people like us), confirmation bias (“the tendency for people to seek information that confirms pre-existing beliefs or assumptions”), and perception bias (“the tendency to form stereotypes and assumptions about certain groups that make it impossible to make an objective judgment about members of those groups”). Source: Cultural Intelligence Center.
Notice it says unintended. Most people don’t mean to be biased. They just don’t take the time to search their own hearts or retrain their minds to think or process information differently.
Allow me to introduce you to the work of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky on intuition. In his book, Thinking Fast and Slow, Kahneman presents two systems of thinking: intuitive thinking (System 1) and rational thinking (System 2). Kahneman won the Nobel Prize for his work in 2002.
System 1 encompasses our first impressions and automatic responses. This sort of thinking comes effortlessly; System 1 operates involuntarily. System 2 includes our rational responses, all of which require our attention. This system is disrupted when our attention drifts. In other words, you have to intentionally stay focused without distraction to stay in System 2.
Imagine for a moment a white female walking back to her car in a parking lot at night. It’s dark and the parking lot is mostly empty, except for a few cars to her left. She cautiously looks over her shoulder and sees a black man walking in her direction. Without thinking, she hurries to her car and locks the doors. In this scenario, the woman acted subconsciously based on her System 1 thinking - she allowed her impressions and feelings to rule her actions without much thought.
In order to move into System 2 thinking, the woman could have paused to catch herself before hurrying to her car to lock the doors. Was she in real danger? If not, she could have applied rational thought to her feelings in the moment. We recognize many experience fear for valid reasons; however, we are most concerned with the false impression (or bias) that ALL Black men are dangerous and need to be avoided.
Most of us identify with System 2, believing our actions are the result of logical, rational thinking. But Kahneman shows us that most of our decisions are born out of System 1. That’s because System 1 is automatic; we don’t have to think about it. And this is where most of our biases come from.
Much like our mission at Dressember, the first step toward overcoming bias is awareness. The same goes for anti-trafficking efforts - awareness is key. In the next post we will be posting 5 habits for breaking bias, but first, I’d like to invite you to take the Implicit Bias test Harvard created in 1998. The test was developed as a computerized way to determine your correlation between concepts as they relate to bias. For example, you will be asked to give your gut instant reaction to positive and negative words as you look at Black and White faces. There are multiple tests to choose from, but for now, just try a few.
If you’re like me, your results proved you are more biased than you originally thought. That’s because System 1 thinking has trained your brain to respond a certain way. It’s important to note that with time, we can move into System 2 thinking more frequently. Becoming actively anti-racist takes time, practice, and intention. In the next post, we’ll be posting ways you can combat bias. You can find all our White Privilege & Advocacy blog posts here.
About the Author
Tori Schaulis, Dressember Communications Manager, is originally from the Midwest, spent her growing up years in the South and ended up in sunny Southern California to start her Masters at Fuller Seminary. She’s currently in pursuit of her M.A. in Intercultural Studies with a focus in Race, Cultural Identity, and Reconciliation. After living abroad twice and working with international students at Baylor University, Tori decided to pursue work where she could use her passion to advocate for others. She is also a certified Cultural Intelligence coach and is passionate about combating bias and challenging systems. You can find her leading workshops in Unconscious Bias and having conversations about social justice and sustainable practices. When she’s not studying or working, Tori enjoys baking (and dancing) in her kitchen, writing, and traveling someplace new.