1 Unconscious bias

We all experience unconscious bias, it’s the way our brains work. Our unconscious biases can lead us to develop and rely on stereotypes which, in turn, can lead to prejudice and discrimination. So, it is important to raise our awareness of them and take actions to mitigate their impact.

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A photograph of weighing scales, with a post-it labelled fact on one side, and a post-it labelled bias on the other side. The side with facts has more post-its and therefore suggesting that it weighs more.

The human brain can receive many more pieces of information than it can consciously process, so we have to rely on our subconscious to take short cuts. These short cuts are influenced by a wide range of factors.

Urwin (2024) defines unconscious bias as ‘a prejudice or stereotype an individual may hold about a particular group of people that they aren’t fully aware of. Also known as implicit bias, this bias can be directed toward people of certain races, gender identities, sexual orientations, physical abilities or even personal traits.’ He explains further:

There are many different types of unconscious bias, some of which are outlined in this short video from the Democratic Society:

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Transcript: Video 2: Unconscious Biases- Democratic Society UK

Narrator:

Without us realising it, our brains can sabotage our own thinking. Instead of thinking clearly, our mind can simply close itself off. Luckily, there’s a way to see the bigger picture. If you’re aware of these blocks, sometimes called cognitive or unconscious biases, you can address them.

This is particularly helpful when you’re working with others to make important decisions. There are many unconscious biases. We’re going to highlight six of the most common ones so that you can identify and work around them.

The first bias is anchoring bias, the first or last piece of information you hear or see can create a lasting memory. We tend to remember this information, even if it’s not the most useful or relevant piece of information that we have received. The second bias is The Bandwagon effect, sometimes called groupthink. When many people take one position, you might feel like you should join them even if their views don’t align with yours. Be clear on your own position and be wary of getting swept along.

The third bias is blind spot bias. We all have our blind spots, but they’re much easier to recognise in others than in ourselves. To address this, encourage others to watch for your blind spots and you can watch for theirs.

The fourth bias is confirmation bias. We’re comfortable with what we know and tend to approach new information with fixed ideas. We’re more likely to accept information that supports and reject information that contradicts our world view. This may lead us to stereotype those with a different viewpoint. This is perhaps the strongest bias and the most common. So watch closely for this one.

The fifth bias is information bias. Often when we in a group, we think we need more information before we can make a decision. Sometimes it’s necessary, sometimes it’s not. People can often make more accurate decisions with less information. Check that additional information is essential.

Delaying a decision for too long while you seek more information is a common sign of this bias. The sixth and final bias is the authority or anti-authority bias. Some of us defer to authority figures. If this person holds an important position, they must be right.

On the flip side, some of us disregard anything a person in authority says because we have a low level of trust in experts. Either way, your job is to interrogate the evidence and look closely at the facts not judge the person stating them. Critical thinking skills can help you do that.

Remember, there are many types of biases. These are just six that we often see when groups work together. Your job is to spot the bias in others and yourself. If we can all do that we’ll make better decisions together.

End transcript: Video 2: Unconscious Biases- Democratic Society UK

Video 2: Unconscious Biases- Democratic Society UK

Other biases that are commonly experienced in the workplace include:

Affinity bias – which describes how we gravitate towards people who share our background, interests, values and beliefs.

Halo and horn effect – where our judgement of a person is based on a particular characteristic that we observe, i.e. one good thing about them leads us to believe they are good at lots of things (halo), or one bad trait leads us to believe they are bad at other things too (horn).

The impact of unconscious bias can be varied, potentially affecting how intently we listen to someone, who we assign credit or blame to, who is trusted with high-profile work, the feedback we give to different people and even our body language when we are in their company.

There are too many biases to methodically go through each one every time we make a decision, so Lewis (2017) explains the work of the NeuroLeadership Institute, which groups all these biases into 5 underlying causes with their SEEDS model:

• Similarity – we think people similar to ourselves are better than others
• Expedience – we think our first feeling must be true
• Experience – we think our subjective perceptions are objectively true
• Distance – we think people closer to us are better than those far away
• Safety – we think bad outcomes are more powerful than good outcomes (risk averse).

Although we all have biases and we can’t make them go away, we can become more aware of them.

Gade (2025) discusses how to use the PAUSE framework to address unconscious bias in everyday life. A quick online search will demonstrate many different interpretations of PAUSE, but Glade suggests the following:

• P – Pay Attention: Notice your initial reactions, both physical and emotional, when faced with a situation. Recognizing these signals is the first step in addressing bias.
• A – Acknowledge: Take a moment to breathe and reset. A short pause can prevent knee-jerk reactions and allow for a more thoughtful response.
• U – Uncover: Reflect on whether your judgment is being influenced by past experiences or stereotypes. Uncovering these biases helps ensure fairer decision-making.
• S – Seek Understanding: Approach situations with curiosity rather than assumption. Seeking to understand another person's perspective creates space for meaningful conversations and reduces misjudgments.
• E – Engage Fairly: Steer the conversation toward a positive and inclusive resolution, ensuring that all voices are heard and that decisions are made based on fairness and objectivity.

You may also find it useful to analyse the various steps in your current processes and plans, to work out how bias might influence your actions and decisions.

Unconscious bias is often discussed in the context of recruitment, and you’ll explore that aspect in more detail in Week 6.

Unconscious bias training

Atcheson (2021) feels that ‘Training hiring managers and interviewers on unconscious bias is essential. That way they can start to spot it in themselves, in their fellow interviewers and even in debrief.’ She also signals its importance in leaders and managers to help them understand the bias that someone in their team is experiencing, and to look out for and address it.

Many organisations offer unconscious bias training to their staff, with the aim of raising their awareness and changing their behaviour. However, some organisations, including the UK government, have started to question the validity of this type of training due to insufficient evidence of its long-term success.

In 2025, the British Psychological Society published a briefing paper on the topic (James et al 2025), agreeing that ‘there is little evidence that it results in organisational changes needed to create a more equitable workplace’ and offering ten practical recommendations ‘designed to guide organisations in implementing effective, evidence-based approaches’.

These include:

• Don’t just do, evaluate – making evaluation ‘front and centre’ of any training programme and tracking both engagement with training and EDI metrics over time.
• Take a holistic approach – going beyond a one-off training session and engaging in a wide range of interactive exercises, learning opportunities and interventions.
• What type of content should you focus on? – while race and gender are often the primary focus of unconscious bias training, it is essential to consider the broader range of biases, including age, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, neurodiversity etc.
• Avoid a ‘one size fits all’ approach – before beginning training, build a comprehensive profile of your employees and stakeholders. Understanding their values, identities and socioeconomic backgrounds is important for any diversity training to resonate.
• Hybrid rather than online training – studies have suggested that online training is unlikely to be effective on its own, particularly for sensitive and challenging material.

Pressure to conform

Another unwanted side effect of unconscious bias is that your diverse team members may feel a pressure to conform and slowly quiet themselves.

This is why creating a safe space for people to be their authentic selves is so important, and you’ll look at that in more detail in Week 8 when you explore groupthink.

In the next section, you’ll look at something which links closely with unconscious bias, and that’s the concept of privilege.