Implicit bias is defined as the the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner (Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity). It is something that is learned from our surroundings: family, society, friends, etc. The issue with implicit bias is that it is not necessarily recognized by members of society as being prevalent, because we cannot see it. However, those that do understand the impact of the issue may still believe that implicit biases affect others but not themselves, and that these biases have simple solutions. (Greenwald, Association for Psychological Science). The difference between implicit bias and known bias is that while known bias is recognized and consciously used in an individual’s everyday life, implicit bias is still a part of everyday life, but on a subconscious level, in which the individual is completely unaware that they have any bias at all. This is evidenced through the IAT test (Implicit Association Test), which measures the unintentional and unconscious thoughts that people such as police voters, voters, and jurors towards specific groups of individuals. (Sleek) Thus, the impact of implicit bias in political environments is somewhat dangerous, particularly with judges and the police force in America.
Even though judges have the power to decide the fate of an individual’s life, they are not immune to implicit bias. Specifically, one example of this was in a study where prospective jurors were given a fictional case, and they remembered more aggressive aspects of the case about a defendant named “Tyrone” than with the same scenario and a defendant named “William”. (Carter) This is a serious problem because until recently, not much research has been conducted on the topic of implicit bias. For centuries, judges have been making life-altering decisions and attempting to be as unbiased as possible, when it is and has always been impossible to be completely unbiased due to implicit bias. However, with the IAT test, it has become more evident that everyone is affected by implicit bias in one way or another, in that even those most focused on equality may hold implicit biases deep within them, and unintentionally use these biases to make decisions in their everyday life. (Association for Psychological Science) The fact is, judges are not immune to implicit bias just because they went to law school and passed the Bar, because there is no way to teach how to rid yourself of implicit bias. It is engrained into the making of society. Another instance in which the implicit bias of the members of the judicial branch was tested was a study in which 60 lawyers were given the same research memo from a law student, and half of the lawyers were told the student was African American and the other half were told the writer was white. When they were asked to rate the student’s performance, they gave the black writer a 3.2 out of 5, and the white student was given a 4.1. (Carter)
What this means for judges is that because of their immense power, they can unintentionally make decisions based on their implicit bias, fundamentally contributing to the rigid social categorization in America, and even to concepts such as sexism and racism. In one recommendation from an opinion article on the Bar Association Website, a lawyer suggests that judges can help stop their implicit bias by checking the reasoning behind decision making, reducing stress and removing distraction, and increasing exposure to groups that are discriminated against and stereotyped. (American Bar Association) This implies that although there is no way to harness one’s implicit bias, there are ways to check it in the courtroom.
Another significant occurrence of implicit bias in society today is with the United States police force. Movements such as Black Lives Matter have publicized the issue of police brutality towards certain groups. Admittedly, some of this violence is caused by outright and intentional bias, however there is still an element of implicit bias in the police force. In fact, in traffic stops in the United States, 20 million African- Americans are pulled over every year. In addition, after African-Americans are pulled over, officers are more likely to search them in every state but one, despite the fact that African-Americans are no more likely to be carrying illegal materials than Whites. (Fletcher et al)
But it doesn’t stop there. For instance, according to NPR, African Americans in 2015-2016 were killed at a rate of 7.2 million, while whites were killed at a rate of 2.9 million. (Fox) Because police are armed with weapons, they have immense power over society, just as members of the judicial branch do. In addition, just like judges, they can decide the fate of the rest of someone’s life, and use their own implicit bias to negatively impact society.
Implicit bias makes up a significant percentage of problems with social relations in America today, and whether these unintentional biases come from history, family influence, or political climate, they need to be recognized as problematic. Although implicit bias isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, if society recognizes its existence and makes an active effort to educate others about it, we may be able to slowly promote change. Specifically, if judges and police officers are educated not only to do their jobs, but to do them while recognizing their own implicit biases, it is likely that the more people realize the extent of the problem and act accordingly to stop their implicit biases.