1) Humans have an innate tendency to categorize people and seek patterns in order to simplify a complex world, preferring familiar things and mistrusting unfamiliar things. 2) Unconscious biases form from upbringing, past experiences, beliefs, culture, social status, media, and lack of familiarity and can influence how we assess others. 3) Common unconscious biases include stereotyping, attribution bias, in-group thinking, confirmation bias, and the bandwagon effect, which can negatively impact decisions about others.

1. hard wired to
categorise people
instinctively
Needs to simplify
a complex world
Prefers the
familiar, mistrusts
the new
ciaoh
hh
The
value
of
diversity
Seeks out
repeating
patterns
How
bias
form

2. Where
do
bias
come
from?
The
hidden
thinker
Every
second
We process
11000000
bits of
information
 40 are processed
by our aware thinking
 99.999996% are processed
by unconscious thinking
Upbringing
Past experiences
Beliefs
Dominant
culture Education
Social
status
Media
Lack of
familiarity

3. The
Blind
Spot:
types of
bias
Systemic errors in
assessing other’s
contributions or
the reasons for
their behaviour
Favouring
individuals that
share some of our
characteristics
Stereotyping Attribution
bias
In-group
thinking
Confirmation
Bias
Bandwagon
effect
WARNING
I CAN’T
SEE YOU
Paying attention to
information that confirms
our expectations while
discount information
that contradicts
them
Tendency to do or
believe things because
many other people do -
Linked to group
thinking
Expecting individuals to
adhere to commonly
held stereotypes about a
group they belong to
Counteract
bias

4. Have clear, explicit, consistent and objective criteria
when making decisions affecting others
The
Action
plan
Facilitate bias awareness
Limit unconscious responses by introducing nudges
and contextual cues
Monitor key data to spot areas where specific groups
are under-represented
Take time, stop and reflect when making decisions
about others
Implicit Association Tests – Harvard University
‘Know yourself’ test BITC Unconscious Bias toolkit
Black Doll White Doll played a key role in Brown
v. the Board of Education, the landmark case that
desegregated American schools.
Unconscious bias infographic in UK and around the
world:
http://race.bitc.org.uk/all-resources/infographics/race-
work-infographics
http://race.bitc.org.uk/all-
resources/infographics/racialbiasinfographic
Learn more
Mix it up: for example, get to know people you don’t
usually interact with
Ensure decision making groups are diverse and
representative
Talk to your adviser about Unconscious Bias training and Unconscious Bias Action plan sessions