Implicit Bias, Awareness, and Selection Decisions
This week’s materials and my experience with Harvard’s Project Implicit helped me better understand how implicit bias can quietly influence decision-making, even when people believe they are being fair. After completing the Race Implicit Association Test (IAT), my results showed that I was moderately faster at associating White Americans with “good” and Black Americans with “bad.” While this result was uncomfortable to see, it reinforced the idea that implicit bias is often unconscious and shaped by socialization, media exposure, and cultural norms rather than intentional prejudice.
Implicit bias can directly impact the reliability and validity of selection processes, especially in hiring. Reliability refers to consistency in evaluation, while validity refers to whether a process actually measures job-related qualifications. If a hiring manager unknowingly holds implicit racial biases, they may evaluate identical résumés differently based on names, perceived race, or other cues. Research has shown that Black applicants receive fewer callbacks than White applicants with equivalent qualifications, suggesting bias can undermine both fairness and accuracy in selection (Payne et al., 2020). This means organizations may not consistently select the most qualified candidates, weakening the overall effectiveness of the hiring process.
One way to counteract implicit bias is through structured selection systems, such as standardized interview questions and objective scoring rubrics. These reduce the influence of gut feelings and stereotypes by forcing evaluators to focus on job-related criteria. Additionally, increasing awareness through training and self-reflection—like taking the IAT—can help individuals slow down automatic judgments and question their assumptions (Vandiver, as cited in Be Better Blog).
While implicit bias may never fully disappear, acknowledging its presence and actively working against it can improve fairness, decision quality, and trust in organizational systems.
References
Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. L. K. (1998). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(6), 1464–1480.
Payne, K., Niemi, L., & Doris, J. M. (2020). Scientific American.
Vandiver, B. J. (2023). Understanding Implicit Bias—and How to Work Through It, Be Better Blog.
