Want to program the brain to better deal with Unconscious Bias? Here is How.
What is Unconscious Bias?
Bias, as defined in the Cambridge Dictionary, is “the action of supporting or opposing a particular person or thing in an unfair way, because of allowing [our] personal opinions that influence [our] judgement”.
Biases may and do affect recruitment, task delegation and management practices in organisations. We form biased opinions base on many characteristics such as age, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, race, education, social economic level and much more.
Bias outside of our awareness are called unconscious bias or implicit bias. They are our silent attempts to make sense of the world by categorising and forming social stereotypes, in a way that we are unaware of. Unconscious bias occurs even more often than conscious bias, and they may even be in conflict with one’s moral values.
Unconscious Bias in Our Brain
Scientists have identified several brain regions such as the amygdala and hippocampus to be associated with unconscious bias. These parts of the brain form our limbic system which largely contributed to emotional learning, fear condition and preference development. The most typical ways of categorisation are “this group is me or I belong to this group" and “that group is not”, the “in groups” and “out groups”. We tend to favour groups similar to our own background. This preference can be developed since childhood through exposure on social media, cultural influence and surrounding environments. However, our limbic system is also well connected to other brain parts that govern inhibitory control and conscious thinking, which are intended to regulate compulsive emotions.
Lasana Harris, a neuroscientist who researches on social learning at University College London, explains that if we are aware of the association of biases towards certain group, we can use our critical thinking and intelligence to find out what is “wrong” and do our best to control it. Therefore, any methods to boost our cognitive function are helpful in keeping awareness and maintaining emotional control.
Tips on Tackling Unconscious Bias
Before we go into detailed steps on handling unconscious bias, here is one simple and effective step to begin with:
1- Sleep
Get enough sleep! It may sound simple, but it is vital to keep our cognitive function high in order to override emotional impulse. So, before you enter into an important meeting with a diverse group, get enough sleep the night before and it will help you tremendously.
What else can we do in terms of practical steps for dealing with unconscious bias?
2- Awareness
Becoming aware of our unconscious bias, therefore bringing it to the conscious level is the first step in making change. We are only able to make changes if we know what to change. Therefore, we need tools to help us understand our current level of bias. One useful tool is the Harvard Implicit Association Test (IAT), which measures beliefs and attitudes that are hidden from conscious behaviours. Another tool is to conduct awareness training on unconscious bias. Trainers may point out specific areas where biases may show up and are more likely to occur and therefore encourage participants to reflect on their current behaviours. This awareness brings clarity into what and how to improve on unconscious bias.
3- Actions
We can learn to adopt non-prejudiced actions. Easier said than done, but action is a key step forward. For example, during recruitment processes, we encourage managers to conduct blind recruitments without emphasis on characteristics (age, gender, religious beliefs etc). We can also use standardised questionnaires during interviews to measure fair performances. Here we would like to introduce the FLEX model and some of its elements to help foster non-bias behaviours at work.
F - Focus within
- Be aware of your emotions and understand how your previous experience has shaped your current perspective.
- Be curious and follow facts over assumptions
L - Learn about others
- Develop empathy and understand how other’s experience shaped their perspective
- Consider how your actions may impact others
E - Engage in inclusive dialogue
- Ask open ended question
- Active listening
- Provide opinion without defensiveness
X - eXpand your options.
- Be flexible on how to reach your goals
- Seek out diverse perspective to increase your pool of resources
4- Environment
Last but not least, we can rely on the incredible ability our brain has to change and rewire. Our brain constantly restructures according to the need in different environments. This process is called neuroplasticity. We can bring inclusiveness into workplace culture through trainings, seminars, cultural exchanges and celebrations, book club discussions, and executive coaching, which would in turn help promote individual to be more aware of the negative unconscious biases.
Last but not least, we can rely on the incredible ability our brain has to change and rewire. Our brain constantly restructures according to the need in different environments. This process is called neuroplasticity. We can bring inclusiveness into workplace culture through trainings, seminars, cultural exchanges and celebrations, book club discussions, and executive coaching, which would in turn help promote individual to be more aware of the negative unconscious biases.
One of the key training areas we provide in FELIZ Consulting is exactly on Unconscious Bias, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging bringing up examples and practical tools on how we can do better. We equip our participants with awareness training and tools to deal with biases behaviour in work environment.
To learn more about this topic, please contact us and we can help you to bring inclusivity into your workplace. [email protected]
References:
1. https://www.morganmckinley.com/hk/article/4-ways-you-can-overcome-unconscious-bias-in-your-hiring
2. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190719-unconscious-bias
3. https://diversity.llnl.gov/about/bias
4. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/02/unconscious-bias-what-is-it-and-can-it-be-eliminated
5. https://workforcediversitynetwork.com/
6. https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/how-to-use-neuroscience-to-address-unconscious-bias/
7. https://www.spectradiversity.com/2017/12/27/unconscious-bias/