Unconscious Bias Resources for Selection Committees

In preparing to review nominations, APS would like you to be mindful of unconscious bias (sometimes called implicit bias) and its effect on decision making. Unconscious biases are those ingrained beliefs that we all have and use when we evaluate ourselves and others. They can undermine our best intentions to be open-minded and objective, especially when we are under stress, tired, distracted, or pressed for time. There are data that suggest the effects of our unconscious biases are reduced when we become aware of them. Please take the module on Gender & Science, and perhaps a few others, that may help you reflect on this issue before completing your reviews.

Harvard Implicit Association Test

Go to Project Implicit page.

  1. scroll down and click on “I wish to proceed;”
  2. click on the “Gender – Science IAT;”
  3. instruction will pop up; click to begin.

Articles

Kirwan Institute, State of the Science: Implicit Bias Review 2014 format_pdf
NCBI PMC article, Long-term reduction in implicit race bias: A prejudice habit-breaking intervention
Boston Globe article, The bias fighters