Research Guides: Implicit Bias: What Can I Do?

Campus Resources

What Can We Do to Reduce Implicit Bias?

If implicit bias occurs at the unconscious level, what can we do to reduce it and its negative impact on our community and world? There is no easy answer or quick fix to this question, but we start making a difference by:

asking ourselves difficult questions about our beliefs;
questioning the reasons behind the decisions we make, then restructuring decision-making processes to reduce biases;
continuing to learn about implicit bias and structural inequalities; and
developing the habit of noticing and countering biases and stereotypes.

Here are some resources to get started:

Constructivist Listening
National Equity Project: "Constructive Listening is an effective strategy for engaging in conversations that are both intellectually demanding and emotionally challenging."
LACE (Love, Authenticity, Courage, Empathy) Lens
UO Division of Equity and Inclusion's web site on ideas to "help us explicitly model the values we share, and resources in the form of reading materials, templates and activities focused on encouraging us to be intentional about the way that we show up as colleagues, faculty, staff, students and citizens of the world."
Look Different
By MTV, with input from the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. Includes testing your implicit bias, putting yourself in someone else's shoes, watching real stories, and taking a bias cleanse.
Implicit Association Tests
Take an implicit association test designed by Project Implicit.
Unconscious Bias Handout
By Enact Solutions, includes types of biases, triggers, and ways to avoid implicit bias.

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