Reflection Paper On Implicit Bias

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Growing up in a very accepting and forward home, I always found myself to be free of most bias. Having been the target of some racial prejudice in the past, I always told myself that I would make sure nobody else had to feel the same way. While this may be a great way to think, it really only covers the fact that you will not have any explicit bias. What I have realized during the course of this class is that implicit bias often has a much stronger effect on us than we might think, and even the most conscious people can be affected. One of the best methods I have seen of detecting this bias is Harvard’s IAT, which can pick up on implicit biases across a variety of subjects. The first test I took was the African-America and European-American IAT, which said that I had little to no preference between the two. This result did not surprise me at all, because in my mind there really is no difference between races, only people. I spent a majority of my life living in a very diverse community, and got to experience a variety of cultures. I believe this certainly played a role in my test score, as a person who grew up primarily in one culture might have a hard time seeing how people of other races could be similar to them. The second test I took was the sexuality …show more content…

It may seem ridiculous that we make decisions based on thoughts that we do not even know we are having, but it is certainly true. This test has really opened my eyes to the fact that although I considered myself very open-minded, even I have a slight bias in some regards. The most important lesson from this is that awareness is the key, and these biases will forever be engrained in our subconscious if we do not take the time to face them. Although I found this a tough pill to swallow, I and the people I meet henceforth will benefit from the knowledge I have gained

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