(University of North Carolina)
The Bias of Crowds
Millions of people have taken an implicit test of racial bias, and most display a preference for one group over another. The meaning of that preference is a matter of lively debate. When a person displays an implicit bias, does it mean that they are a biased person? Or does it mean that they inhabit a biased social environment? It could be some combination of both. In this talk I discuss a theory that describes implicit bias not only as a feature of individual minds, but as a feature of social contexts. Akin to the “wisdom of crowds” effect, implicit bias may emerge as the aggregate effect of individual fluctuations in concept accessibility that are ephemeral and context-dependent. The aggregates, in contrast, are stable, reliable, and highly correlated with a range of important disparities. I will discuss new research on the role of statistical aggregation across persons and contexts, and the role of history and systemic racism in shaping implicit bias. Viewing implicit bias as a feature of social environments resolves several puzzles in the existing literature, turns supposed methodological weaknesses into strengths, and generates new insights into how and why implicit bias propagates inequalities.
The colloquium will be held in person and streamed live on zoom. Please contact siev.1@osu.edu for the zoom link.
This talk is co-hosted by Ohio State’s Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences as part of their series on the cognitive science of racial bias.