Implicit association is a term used in social psychology to refer to a person's mental connections between concepts, connections of which they might not be consciously aware, and might even deplore if they were aware of them. Implicit social cognition refers to the way that implicit associations affect our social interactions and our attitudes toward others, outside of our conscious awareness and control. Implicit bias, unconscious bias, refers to the way that implicit social cognition has been demonstrated to lead to prejudices and stereotypes, favorable or unfavorable, that occur subconsciously and may even be at odds with one's stated conscious beliefs.
Stroop Effect Test: 1-minute self-test of the Stroop Effect, demonstrating semantic interference and the strength of implicit association.
Immaculate Perception: 14-minute YouTube video of TEDx San Diego lecture by Jerry Kang, J.D., Professor of Law, University of California, Los Angeles.
Project Implicit: Website for a non-profit organization of researchers on implicit association, where you can take an online Implicit Association Test (IAT) relevant to several different common types of bias.
Implicit Bias Video Series, available on the Implicit Bias Resources page of Jerry Kang, Vice Chancellor of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at UCLA.
Blind Spot: Hidden Biases of Good People, book by Mahzarin R. Banaji, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Harvard University and Anthony G. Greenwald, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of Washington.
The Mind Is a Difference-Seeking Machine: 51-minute Interview with Mahzarin Banaji, co-author of Blind Spot and creator of the Implicit Association Test.
Bias Isn't Just A Police Problem, It's A Preschool Problem, story on NPR Morning Edition by Cory Turner, the transcript of which includes hyperlinks to several relevant and interesting research studies.
The Influence of Unconscious Bias: Brief summary of research findings on implicit bias, by David Acosta, Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion, and Ed Callahan, Associate Dean for Academic Personnel, UC Davis Health System.
Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal?: 2004 experimental study by Marianne Bertand, Professor of Economics, University of Chicago and Sendhil Mullainathan, Professor of Economics, Harvard University, published in the American Economic Review, on the effect of perceived race on resumé evaluation.
Implicit Discrimination in Hiring: 2007 European experimental study by Dan-Olof Rooth, Professor of Economics and Statistics, Kalmar University College, published by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn, Germany.
Graduate Students' Perceptions of Their Advisors: 2012 review of research indicating that implicit bias may influence the support mentors provide their students, by Shiri Noy, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Wyoming and Rashawn Ray, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park, published in the Journal of Higher Education.
An Examination of Racial Discrimination in the Labor Market for Recent College Graduates: 2014 experimental study comparing callback rates in business sector jobs for recent college graduate resumés, by John Nunley, Adam Pugh, Nicholas Romero, and Richard Seals, economists from universities of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Auburn, published in the Auburn University Department of Economics Working Paper Series.
Feminized Management and Backlash Toward Agentic Women: 1999 experimental study of the influence of gender stereotypes on managerial hiring, by Laurie Rudman, Professor of Psychology, Rutgers University and Peter Glick, Professor of Psychology, Lawrence University, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Casuistry and Social Category Bias: 2004 summary of six experimental studies of implicit bias and confirmation bias on the basis of perceived social category, by Michael Norton, Professor of Business Administration, MIT, Joseph Vandello, Professor of Business, University of South Florida, and John Darley, Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs, Princeton University, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
This page was last modified November 14, 2016.
Christopher Dobrian
dobrian@uci.edu