{"id":14213,"date":"2016-10-26T14:04:37","date_gmt":"2016-10-26T18:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/nwcenter\/?post_type=lessonplans&p=2463"},"modified":"2025-03-05T14:00:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T22:00:10","slug":"implicit-bias","status":"publish","type":"teachertoolkit","link":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/implicit-bias\/","title":{"rendered":"Implicit Bias"},"content":{"rendered":"

Background content<\/strong>: Ideally students would have read some background content on implicit bias before the conversation. One possibility is Kelly and Roedder\u2019s 2008 paper \u201cRacial Cognition and the Ethics of Implicit Bias.\u201d (available on the Resources tab). Only assign the first half of the reading, as it gives some background on implicit bias and empirical evidence supporting its existence.<\/p>\n

Another possibility is just to have the teacher assign them to take an Implicit Association Test ( IAT test<\/a>) the night before. The IAT test is for people 18 years and older. For students aged 14-17, they offer Project Implicit Youth <\/a>which introduces students to the concept of implicit bias and the Implicit Association Test.<\/p>\n

Class plan<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Show an optical illusion, and poll the class on their responses (which is bigger\/longer?). Some options include the Muller-Lyre illusion or the Ebbinghaus illusion.<\/p>\n

Inevitably, some students will know these illusions, and answer correctly that they\u00a0are the same size. Ask some of them (those who answered that they\u2019re the same) to\u00a0explain their reasoning for answering the way they did. Often, this will include\u00a0reference to having seen the illusion before, and thus knowing that appearances are\u00a0deceiving. Be sure to highlight the fact that one still looks bigger, even when they\u00a0know the trick and are able to adjust their judgments. Let students know you\u2019ll come\u00a0back to that later. \u00a0(5-10 min.)<\/p>\n

2. Discuss implicit bias and moral considerations. Review primary features of implicit bias. If no one has done background reading, now is when you might discuss implicit bias generally, including (5-10 min.):<\/p>\n

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  1. that it is subconscious (not subject to introspection);<\/li>\n
  2. that we act on it unconsciously;<\/li>\n
  3. that it is pervasive;<\/li>\n
  4. that it affects our actions (lots of evidence that one could cite\u2026e.g., resum\u00e9 studies);<\/li>\n
  5. that it often contravenes our explicit beliefs (people who espouse egalitarian views often show bias on IAT); and<\/li>\n
  6. that it concerns many categories (e.g., race, sex\/gender, weight, sexuality, etc.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Ask students to turn to their neighbors and discuss what moral considerations might be at play here. It might help to give examples like:<\/p>\n