User:Thelegendofpeace/sandbox

= Implicit Racial Bias in the United States =

Implicit bias is “a bias or prejudice that is present but not consciously held or recognized”. In the context of implicit racial bias this would be an unconscious “bias or prejudice” towards people of a certain race. This could be a form of racism without the person explicitly knowing they’re racist. There are many instances of this in the United States such as in education and criminal justice systems.

Implicit Racial Bias in Criminal Justice Systems
In the criminal justice system there are many different examples of implicit racial bias. There is implicit racial bias among police officers, judges, prosecutors and everyone else related to this system. Every human has some implicit bias so it makes sense why these people would be implicitly biased. This is true even among police officers. Recently there have been cases of excessive force used by police officers towards African Americans. This has led to the rise of Black Lives Matter, a group “whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.” Police officers are a part of the violence inflicted on these Black communities, which implicit racial bias can help explain. Police officers usually have a better attitude towards white people compared to black people and even “implicitly associate Black males with characteristics such as criminality, sub-humanness, or being capable of superhuman behavior.” In part this belief has led to an increase in intermediate force among black individuals compared to white individuals. This doesn’t just happen with police officers either, even judges can have implicit racial biases. Judges acknowledge that they have implicit racial biases but many of them won’t do too much about it. “The majority of judges held non-interventionist values.” this non-interventionist value means they will follow the lead on arraignment, plea hearing, and jury selection for whatever the defense and prosecutors want. This could lead to unfair treatment of different racial groups.

Implicit Racial Bias in Education
Teachers also have implicit racial bias but it has been found to be lower when compared to other occupations. In any case, implicit racial bias can affect learning outcomes and the amount of punishment time received. When teachers teach a group of black children who were then tested on what they studied the teachers predicted that the black children would do worse on it then the white children. Also when given a hypothetical situation where a child gets in trouble, teachers who chose the punishment gave more severe punishments to the opposite race children compared to same race punishments. Teachers are also implicitly racially biased when estimating college graduation rates among black students. The white teachers estimated at a rate 30% lower than black teachers that their black students would get a college degree.

Self Awareness, Positive Interaction, and empathy skills development
One technique to reduce implicit racial bias is “increasing self awareness”. This means being aware that everyone has implicit racial bias and that stress can lead to more implicit bias. Another technique used to reduce implicit racial bias is “increasing opportunities for positive interaction”. This technique has been used among healthcare professionals to help reduce their bias. This technique can involve comparing “what they would do and what they should do in a variety of intergroup circumstances”. It helps them understand what prejudices and biases they may have. Another technique used is “empathy skills development”. This involves seeing the other person's perspective and realizing everyone is human. Recent studies show that empathy can be changed if an individual tries hard enough. This can also lead to people seeing the “unique qualities of individuals, rather than… the groups they belong to” especially in the context of medical professionals.

Longitudinal studies and Loving-Kindness Meditation
A 2012 study showed promising results for reducing racial implicit bias in a 12-week study. This study included college students who underwent “a combination of awareness of implicit bias, concern about the effects of that bias, and the application of strategies to reduce bias.” They found that there were “enduring reductions in implicit bias”. Loving-kindness meditation is another technique for reducing implicit racial bias, it “aims to self-regulate an affective state of unconditional kindness towards the self and others”. One of the main goals of this meditation is to picture someone in the mind and wish them well or with happiness. In a 2015 study about loving kindness meditation they state that positive emotion usually leads to more implicit bias. This was not the case when looking at loving-kindness meditation. They found that even though it increased positive emotions it helped decrease implicit prejudice.