Uncovering Unconscious Bias
Promoting Diversity in Research, Teaching, and Administration

Unconscious thought patterns not only shape our perceptions and emotions, but they also influence our actions and enable us to navigate everyday life without having to think things through in detail. They are essential for functioning in society and making quick decisions. However, unconscious thought patterns can also lead to cognitive biases. These distortions affect our assumptions, attitudes and stereotypes. As a result, we may unconsciously and unintentionally make discriminatory decisions or form unjustified judgements. This impacts our workplace and organizational culture, our personnel selection, team compositions, and ultimately the quality of our work.

Information page by CEWS (Center of Excellence Women in Science and Research) on the topic of gender bias in science.

The video of Saleem Reshamwala, published by the New York Times, informs how unconscious bias can be measured and how we become aware of our bias.

The Harvard Implicit Association Test aims to uncover unconscious thought patterns. In this online test, the strength of associations between certain concepts and related evaluations or stereotypes is measured.

Learn More.