{"id":4347,"date":"2021-01-07T18:53:30","date_gmt":"2021-01-07T18:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/inclusive-teaching-sandbox\/?p=4347"},"modified":"2025-05-05T20:55:48","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T00:55:48","slug":"racial-bias-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.lsa.umich.edu\/equitable-teaching\/racial-bias-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Racial Bias Test"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Racial Bias Test<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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January 7, 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Overview<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This reflection-based activity guides students in understanding their implicit racial bias. This activity promotes anti-racism and can support students in the development of their racial identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Maryfield (2018), Implicit racial bias \u201ccan cause individuals to unknowingly act in discriminatory ways. This does not mean that the individual is overtly racist, but rather that their perceptions have been shaped by experiences and these perceptions potentially result in biased thoughts or actions.\u201d All people have unconscious thoughts and actions, but \u201cbecoming aware of implicit racial bias creates an avenue for addressing the issue.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the White Racial Identity Development Model by Helms, as white students have experiences that confront their prior conception of the world, they are prompted to reflect on their own racial biases and are doing the work to move from the Contact Stage to the Autonomy Stage of their identity. Read more on Helms\u2019s White Racial Identity Model<\/a>.<\/strong> White students must experience discomfort and sit with<\/em> guilt but be careful not to settle into <\/em>guilt. For more information about White Identity Development, please refer to our Instructor Resource Guide: Racial Identity Development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The implicit racial bias test is one of many created by Project Implicit. Project Implicit uses the Implicit Association Test (IAT), a tool developed by Anthony Greenwald, Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington, and Mahzarin Banaji, Professor of Social Ethics at Harvard, to study prejudice in social contexts. The IAT assesses unconscious or implicit bias in the context of social identity. The test was later implemented in a study that is ongoing, Project Implicit, and is currently housed on servers at Harvard. To hear Dr. Greenwald and Dr. Banaji discuss this research, view this video.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Activity Goals:<\/p>\n\n\n\n