Mar 13 2017
The Hidden Brain Also Has Hidden Bias
I have personally noticed a trend regarding the idea of inclusivity. It seems that whenever inclusivity is discussed at Virginia Tech, it typically surrounds the discussion of race, gender, and sexual identity. Discussion of disabilities tends to be excluded. Maybe it’s not a trend and is instead a result of a personal bias due to my wife’s background in working amongst individuals with disabilities. Another misconception is that the term disability does not always refer to a disability that manifests in a physical manner either. I’m now getting down from my soap box so I can continue this post.
Reading about Shankar Vedantam’s The Hidden Brain reminded me of a battery of online tests that I have taken on several occasions. Psychologists at Harvard, the University of Virginia and the University of Washington created “Project Implicit” to develop Hidden Bias Tests — called Implicit Association Tests, or IATs, in the academic world — to measure unconscious bias. These tests allow you to find out your implicit associations about race, gender, sexual orientation, and other topics. Scientific research has demonstrated that biases thought to be absent or extinguished remain as “mental residue” in most of us. Studies show people can be consciously committed to egalitarianism, and deliberately work to behave without prejudice, yet still possess hidden negative prejudices or stereotypes. Therefore, I know I have implicit biases and it is a daily task to make sure I remind myself that I have them. Go ahead and try one of them….the results will surely surprise you.
Now I want to tell a story that relates to inclusivity in the classroom.
It was 2007, two years after Hurricane Katrina left its mark on New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I was working for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in the patrol division and was told by my supervisor that I was scheduled to attend diversity training in the upcoming week.
Now, before I go any further, I would like to point out that the entire sheriff’s office was required to attend diversity training at this time. We were never told why everyone had to attend, but they were some mutterings that the department had been the subject of a civil rights investigation by the United States Department of Justice.
So, the day of diversity training came and I walked into a room of 50 deputies from across the entire department. As I looked across the room for a place to sit, I saw that there were 45 white male deputies, four white female deputies and one African-American male deputy. An outside organization sent the facilitators for the training that day: a white female, a hispanic female, and an African-American female. Every person in the room introduced themselves and then the facilitators began the training.
White female facilitator: Today we will be discussing race at great length. Who has heard the term racism before? [every deputy in the room raises a hand] Good. You can put down your hands.
Hispanic female facilitator: Raise your hand if you believe there is such a thing as reverse racism? [48 deputies raise a hand] Okay. Hands down. Hmmm. [she looks at the other facilitators] 48 out of 50. [deputies bgin looking around to attempt to figure out who didn’t raise their hand]
African-American female facilitator: Two of you don’t agree with your colleagues and I took a mental note of who they were. [makes eye contact with the African-American male deputy and a solitary white male deputy] You. [gestures at the solitary white male deputy] Why did you not agree with your colleagues?
Me: It doesn’t matter who’s doing it, racism is racism.
March 14, 2017 @ 11:31
Hi Brett. Thank you for your post! I strongly agree that bias exists in every person’s mind, so we need to remind ourselves that we have it everyday. Also, as an international student, I think the more diverse one experience, the less bias one will be. Before I went abroad, I had many stereotypes of the U.S. from the movies and public media. However, the more people I meet, the more common things I can find between us, and less bias towards others.
March 14, 2017 @ 22:48
I appreciate your point about our unconscious biases. Thanks for sharing these test! I am very interested to see what I have to learn.
March 15, 2017 @ 08:44
Great point about unconscious biases, I think that is something that is very important to keep in mind and why it is really important to talk about issues so that people are aware of there own biases and can work to act without prejudice. I also like that you pointed out that it seems like when diversity is discussed at Virginia Tech people with disabilities seem to be left out, this is something that I hadn’t really though about until you brought it up but it is a good point that should be addressed at the university level.
March 15, 2017 @ 11:11
I like the point you made about how the topic of disabilities tends to be excluded from discussions on inclusivity. Though much has been done to make the academic setting more inclusive for those with disabilities (e.g. handicap accessible buildings or accommodations for those with learning disabilities), I believe we are less progressive in promoting inclusivity for those with disabilities. Most often, disabilities are those that are clinically (i.e. medically) diagnosable by a health care professional. However, there exists a large population of people with “invisible illnesses” who are often excluded in the pursuit for academic inclusivity. Similarly, I believe the biases people maintain regarding mental health/conditions remain a constant barrier preventing total inclusivity. I do admit that great strides have been made in making the academic environment more inclusive towards those with disabilities or certain mental health conditions, but I believe there is much work to be done before we can truly claim academic inclusivity towards all students.
March 15, 2017 @ 12:15
Brett, thanks for a great post! I believe you are correct in observing that “inclusivity” is not all-inclusive in a given community. Before I moved to northern Virginia, a friend told me that the neighbors are only welcoming of newcomers who are introduced by an established resident, someone who already belongs. I never got an introduction, and 16 years later, I am still feeling the “chilly climate,” even from those who arrived after me. The most obvious difference between me and my neighbors is that I work outside the home, whereas it is more typical for moms to stay home full-time. For 16 years, I have felt that I am somehow defective. I don’t know how my neighbors feel about inclusivity, but I suspect it must feel normal for them to treat people differentially based on some perceived justification.
March 15, 2017 @ 12:25
Good point about disabilities, hopefully with all these efforts at Tech all will feel included at this campus
March 15, 2017 @ 14:18
I appreciate your comments about people unconsciously excluding those who are disabled from the diversity conversation. Obviously, the Oscars have been under great scrutiny the past couple years over its diversity issues, but every time people attacked the Oscars saying there’s no diversity, not one person mentioned the fact that there were disabled individuals included/excluded. Additionally, the level of barriers against mental health is staggering.
March 15, 2017 @ 15:07
I really appreciate discussing how we tend to overlook certain elements of “diversity,” like disability of both the invisible and visual sort, at the institutional level. It also seems like disability and accessibility is a problem within liberation movements as well. I also like how you went through and broke down the demographics for the facilitation. As a facilitator I cringed when I saw the mandatory training part since they’re usually, well, awful as a facilitator and participant.
I have to be honest though, your ending caught me off guard. When you say “racism is racism,” how are you using that term?
Is there a space with that usage for acknowledging power, privilege, and a contrast between prejudice that reifies a social structure and prejudice that emerges in response to historical degradation (ultimately leaving aside questions of permissibility or impermissibility)?
March 15, 2017 @ 15:35
I agree that disabilities both invisible and visible need to be discussed more when topics of diversity comes up. People know how to interact and be empathetic and aware of others situations through exposure, collaboration, and communication.
March 15, 2017 @ 16:19
This is extremely important: we must always be weary of who is excluded, even from modes of supposed inclusion.
April 26, 2017 @ 13:07
It’s very interesting to read this post after we did the implicit bias activity in class. I chose the gender biases in STEM test, and as a woman I prided myself with the fact that I was a symbol of going against the bias. My results came as such a surprise to me! Thank you for sharing your thoughts on hidden bias, it shows me that I am not alone.
May 2, 2017 @ 00:02
I agree with you when you stated that usually the term inclusivity refers to the common 3 topics of race, gender, and sexual identity, when there are many other aspects that are forgotten. All sorts of inclusivity topics should be discussed with students in the classroom to get them comfortable with their peers and less biased internally or externally towards people. Thanks for sharing!