Implicit Bias: How Should Psychological Science Inform the Law? Pt. I

In the last 30 years, psychology has undergone an "implicit revolution." Occurring outside of awareness, implicit bias disadvantages segments of society, intrudes on law enforcement and affects the administration of justice.
In "Discriminating without Awareness of Discriminating," Psychology Professor Anthony Greenwald, University of Washington, discusses how intergroup discrimination can occur without prejudicial hostility, conscious intent or awareness of acting in discriminatory fashion. This lecture includes interactive demonstrations that judgments and behaviors operate potently outside of awareness, along with evidence that unconscious processes can routinely sustain intergroup disadvantages in American society.
Dr. Anthony Greenwald, professor, Psychology Department, UW
02/18/2015
engage.washingt...
uwtv.org

[@RobJonesnuClusiv]

Greenwald: “It’s very difficult to prevent unintended discrimination…in order to change all these forms of Unintended Discrimination…there are things one would need to change…
Individual people cannot by themselves change, and more important, they’re changes that require institutional changes that are just not about to happen, almost no one is motivated to do. We are not going to undo the social status hierarchies, that at least in no small number of decades…and, we don’t yet know how to undo implicit biases.”
That kind of says it all.

[@JessBlake2]

It makes sense to attempt to build in procedures that help minimize the impacts of bias by employing objective criteria. I think of the example of the practice of symphony orchestra auditions behind a curtain as a way to stop hiring bias against women. For many of those decades, subaltern groups were operating under the myth that if they were nicer, more polite, more cooperative, patient, etc those with more power would "come around". Those groups were practicing "respectability politics". I assume, when Greenwald says "no one is motivated" that he is not talking about movements like Black Lives Matter. I think knowledge/education about how implicit bias works; and practical and objective procedures for mitigating the consequences of bias are a way forward.

[@ejdarly4733]

I like his response to the question when he talked about why he stays away from using the words racism because that seems more hostile and even though it's still an issue the bigger issue is happening when people are not even being hostile.

[@RukaSubCh]

I find some flaws in his example, the rectangles are previewed the way the are due to the visual cortex which is a different part of your brain to your cognitive cortex, To say that automatic response is a lower function seems backwards as most mammals have that similar function ,since It's been around and used presumably for millions of years and to still remain in our brain's systems where as scientist have found that the prefrontal cortex evolved relatively recently means that it's a lower function on the hierarchy of importance to keep the body alive. That's a reason why drowning individuals can't shout for help while trying to keep their head above water to breath.
People can form automatic responses of simple action through training by repetition, such as riding a bicycle but to say that the visual recognition of colors and contrast is the same as looking at a person's face when the brain is extremely good at identifying faces, with the example of a face blind person due to brain damage showing that it's a part of the brain that is not in the same area. So to me, in my opinion implicit bias is very very flawed to say the least.

[@RukaSubCh]

In the real estate example of "Ingroup favouritism" that market forces actioning through individual agents trying to make a living by making a sale to have enough money to pay the rent and put food on the table. What is he most assured way of getting a sale? To sell to someone willing and Able to by your product, hence they will market to rich people able to pay for items.