Unconscious Bias: Let's Be Honest with Ourselves

Unconscious bias is a powerful, yet often overlooked force that shapes our thoughts, decisions, and interactions. Unconscious bias can be subtle, yet its impact can be profound, affecting everything from workplace dynamics to social interactions.

As a coach and therapist, I see how these bases have a profound effect on my client’s day to day lives and relationships. I can not help but reflect on how much of what we do and think operates below the surface of our awareness. The idea that we might not fully know ourselves—that our actions and decisions are shaped by hidden biases raises important questions about self-awareness and authenticity.

These biases are not just about the judgments we make about others, but also about how we see ourselves. They influence our interactions, our decisions, and even the way we interpret the world around us. What fascinates me most is the tension between our conscious beliefs and the unconscious biases that can contradict them.

The diagram below (The Johari Window, by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham) helps to provide a visual framework that helps to identify what we know about others and indeed ourselves. The flip side is the things we don’t know about others and more interestingly what we don’t know about ourselves. It helps raise awareness, communication and relationships.

Source: Lifevise

The Science of Unconscious Bias

Unconscious bias or implicit bias as it is also called stems from the brain's need to process vast amounts of information quickly. To navigate the world efficiently, our brains rely on shortcuts that simplify our decision-making abilities. While these shortcuts are helpful in many situations, they can lead to snap judgments based on stereotypes or assumptions, rather than objective facts. For example, when meeting someone new, our brains quickly categorise them based on superficial traits like gender, race, age or socio-economic class.

These automatic associations are often shaped by cultural influences, personal experiences and what we see in the media. Without realising it, we may attribute certain characteristics or abilities to a person based on these categories, even if we consciously believe in equality and fairness. Our background, personal experiences, stereotype expectations, and cultural context can make us quick to form opinions of others.

For example, unconscious bias is deeply intertwined with cultural differences, as the cultural context in which we are raised shapes the inherent assumptions and stereotypes we carry. These biases can lead to misunderstandings and misjudgements in cross-cultural interactions, where different ways of thinking, communicating, and behaving are at play. Additionally, cultural biases can be reinforced by social systems, media representations, and historical narratives, further reinforcing stereotypes that individuals may not even realise they hold.

We tend to feel more comfortable around people who are like us because similarity often fosters a sense of familiarity, safety, and predictability. This comfort stems from shared experiences, values, beliefs, or cultural backgrounds, which create a common ground that makes interactions feel smoother and are therefore reassuring to us. When we encounter someone who looks like us, speaks like us, or shares our view of the world, it can affirm our own identity and reduce the cognitive effort required to understand and relate to them.

This preference for similarity is rooted in our evolutionary past, where being part of a group with common traits and beliefs was essential for survival. Now a days this instinct translates into a tendency to lean towards those who mirror our own characteristics, whether it's in social circles, workplaces, or even online communities.

However, this inclination has its downsides. It can limit our exposure to different viewpoints and experiences, reinforcing our existing beliefs and biases. When we consistently seek out the company of those who are similar to us, we may unintentionally stifle diversity and innovation. This can prevent us from fully understanding or appreciating the richness that comes from interacting with people who are different from us.

The Blind Spot in Self-Perception

One of the most intriguing aspects of unconscious bias is how it affects our self-perception. Many people like to think of themselves as fair-minded and free from prejudice, but unconscious biases reveal a different reality. Studies have shown that people can hold biases that contradict their explicit beliefs and values. This disconnection between our conscious beliefs and unconscious biases implies that we don't always know ourselves as well as we think.

This emphasises the complex and often hidden nature of our inner world. While we like to believe that we are fully aware of our motivations, beliefs, and biases, many of our thoughts, emotions and behaviours operate beyond our conscious awareness. This discrepancy is due to our brain's reliance on unconscious processes to manage the overwhelming amount of information we encounter daily. These unconscious processes can harbour biases, fears, and desires that contradict our conscious beliefs, leading to actions and decisions that surprise or shock us in retrospect.

For instance, a person might genuinely believe in gender equality but unconsciously associate leadership qualities more strongly with men than with women. This bias might not manifest in clear discrimination, but it could subtly influence decisions, like who gets promoted or whose ideas are valued in a meeting. The individual may not be aware of this bias and might even deny it if confronted, not out of dishonesty but because the bias operates below the level of conscious thought.

Our minds make decisions intuitively, before we are consciously aware of it. I’ve been involved in interviewed hundreds of people over my twenty-five years in telecoms and insurance and while conversations may focus on skills and performance, there is often a tendency to also consider how the candidate may fit into the company and these biases are often unknown to us. We just have a feeling that someone would be a good fit for our company, but we don’t know why.

Hiding Thoughts from Ourselves and Others

Unconscious bias also plays a role in how we present ourselves to others and even in how we internalise our thoughts. Hiding our true thoughts and feelings, not just from others but from ourselves is a form of self-deception that serves as a defence mechanism, protecting us from confronting uncomfortable truths about our biases and imperfections.

For example, a person might avoid acknowledging their discomfort around people of a different race by rationalising their behaviour in other ways. They might attribute their unease to personality clashes or other external factors, rather than facing the possibility of racial bias. By doing so, they maintain a self-image of being unbiased and open-minded, while the underlying bias continues to influence their behaviour.

Embracing Self-Awareness and Authenticity

Overcoming unconscious bias requires a willingness and commitment to self-reflection and continuous learning. It can often be a painful or unsettling journey, but the reward is a deep understanding of ourselves.

Acknowledge that these biases exist and that they can affect our thoughts and actions in ways we might not fully understand is the first step in making a change. Tools like implicit association tests can help identify hidden biases, thus providing a starting point for self-improvement. It’s also essential to create environments where open discussions about bias are encouraged. Admitting our previously hidden and often darkest thoughts can leave us feeling vulnerable to criticism and judgement by others. By acknowledging the existence of a previously unconscious bias and by striving for greater self-awareness, we can begin to align our actions with our true values, leading to more fair and authentic interactions with others.

Understanding and addressing unconscious bias is a continuous journey that goes beyond just recognising its existence. It involves a deep, ongoing commitment to self-reflection, education, and action. By accepting that our self-knowledge is incomplete, we open ourselves to the possibility of growth. This journey often begins with uncomfortable realisations—acknowledging that our thoughts and behaviours may not always align with our conscious values, and that we might harbour biases we were previously unaware of.

However, this discomfort is a necessary step towards greater self-awareness and more authentic living. While tools like implicit association tests can be valuable in uncovering hidden biases, they are just the beginning. True change requires integrating this newfound awareness into our daily lives, making deliberate choices to counteract these biases, and continually seeking out perspectives different from our own.

The Path to Greater Self-Awareness

The fight against unconscious bias is not an individual endeavour but a collective one. By building environments where discussions about bias are normal and encouraged and where diversity and inclusion are a priority, we can create spaces that are fairer and more balanced. This means advocating for regular training, promoting diverse representation, and actively challenging systems that perpetuate bias. In workplaces, schools, and communities, fostering a culture of awareness and accountability can help mitigate the impact of unconscious biases. Regular training, diverse representation, and inclusive practices are key to reducing the influence of these biases.

Ultimately, the work of addressing unconscious bias is about striving for alignment between our deepest values, our actions and become more intentional in how we show up in the world. It’s about living with greater integrity and authenticity, both within our self and in our interactions with others.

By realising that you are not the thoughts inside your head and that you are the awareness that decides what to do the thoughts. The ability to choose which thoughts to act upon and which to leave being is the key to ensuring that our behaviours reflect our core beliefs and being true to who we are. When we become aware of how unconscious biases affect our decisions and interactions, we can start making choices that better align with our principles which not only improve our relationships and decision-making but also contribute to a more inclusive and understanding world.