social work bias essay

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How can social workers tackle unconscious bias?

Unconscious biases effect us all, says ellie garraway of the charity youth at risk. social workers must actively counter this.

by Ellie Garraway, chief operating officer at Youth at Risk

Unconscious Bias is subtle but pervasive. It’s a blindspot which means it is impossible to see past it on your own and yet it shapes your actions constantly.

All of us have these biases, they have become our reality, they define who we can and can’t make a difference to, and our beliefs about what people are capable of. Our practice becomes limited.

We often go into our careers full of vision and passion, ‘I want to make a difference’, is the drive for many of us. But we don’t realise that our beliefs, inherited and formed out of our life experiences, institutional culture and upbringing, all create our reality. Like a fish in water, we are unaware that the water is there, shaping our every thought and decision.

Youth professionals experience unconscious bias just like anyone else and it affects the choices they make. In this profession more than most we all need the opportunity to confront our limiting mindsets, our own blindspots. So much training focuses on the skills to do the job, but little is about the ‘being’ or the mindset to be effective and yet this has a huge capability to transform outcomes.

The first step is to spot it, awareness is key. Below are a few of the typical blind spots teams identify when we are working with them on unconscious bias. Importantly these are not criticisms of existing practice but attitudes individuals have uncovered for themselves that have been limiting them from being their best.

1. Blame. In a profession like social work many staff have had to protect themselves against a blame culture and this has become ingrained in their practice as a habitual low-risk approach. Professionals are fearful at times of taking ‘right action’ in the face of disagreement or of being the one to make key decisions and so a blindspot develops. Whilst teams may say they are comfortable with risk-taking and see it as unavoidable, in practice they are stifled by the fear of blame and begin to lose touch with their professional instincts.

2. Too busy. Another unconscious bias identified is shaped by the demand to do ‘more for less’. Professionals have prioritised ‘getting things done’ over important investments in their own development like reflective practice. Without spending time on reflection and development they risk perpetuating the cycle of being ‘too busy’ but become vulnerable to making the same mistakes twice and losing sight of their original aspirations.

3. Mistrust. One final example is a mistrust of other services: through historic experience, an ‘us and them’ bias can develop between services such that teams do not effectively collaborate or challenge each other. This can cause delays in the progress of cases as each team believes the other is ineffective and lowers the standard of what can be achieved or expected, failing to proactively confront and deal with the breakdown in effective working.

Tackling these issues is very hard to do alone by virtue of the fact that they are unconscious.

Youth at Risk’s courses guide groups through a series of training conversations which are designed to seek out and confront these biases head-on. Often for the first time, professionals have the space and opportunity to explore ways in which they have unconsciously limited themselves and others.

How to tackle unconscious bias

Here are some of the practices that enable practitioners to avoid or tackle unconscious biases.

Firstly, one thing that can be done right now is to be willing to examine our own practice by questioning ourselves with a ‘beginner’s mind’ – a childlike (non-judgmental) curiosity. When we are willing to question our assumptions and the ingrained beliefs that sit behind them we become open to discovering our limitations. It takes a willingness to be brutally honest with ourselves.

Secondly, listen.

If we listen hard to those around us and focus on the present rather than expectations from the past, we may well hear something new. Particularly listen to those that are complaining, they may be the key to an insight about ourselves if we’re willing to hear it. If we drop our defences and listen to negative feedback from a place of learning it can create a light bulb moment.

Lastly, seek feedback and build teams that value open and honest reflection, this is key to sustaining an environment where we learn from our own practice and avoid becoming ingrained in set approaches.

Support is vital 

Being willing to explore why we do things the way we do them is a great asset to a team working in such an intensive frontline role – this level of support is crucial to counteracting unconscious bias.

The key moment is seeing what has previously been unseen. This happens through identifying negative core beliefs practitioners have held about themselves, exploring how these beliefs have developed over time and how they have squashed their capabilities. It is like lifting the fish out of the water allowing it to see what it has been swimming in.

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4 Responses to How can social workers tackle unconscious bias?

Well put Ellie, we in the Private Care Home Sector have suffered from this for years,thank goodness that the CQC nows seems to be highlighting faillings in the Public Sector so that the there is now a more balanced outlook.

Professionals working in social care could benefit greatly from more inspiring and self-reflective analysis presented so clearly in articles like this.

This would hopefully help each of us to be ‘brutally’ honest and recognise that we all have ‘in-built’ propensity to be: prejudicial, bias and negatively discriminatory in our professional work.

The challenge as this article points out so well, is for us social care professionals to constantly exercise self-reflection and be prepared to change and improve where required.

A good article with sensible advice and guidance. However, we need our employers to buy into these princioples too and to recognise that we should not be ‘too busy’ for reflection and to give and receive supervision, that having time for these things makes us better and more reslient practitioners.

Totally agree Ruth. Supervision is not always recognised as essential, integral part of reflective practice. A rental car agency wouldn’t work out their entire business plan then try to squeeze in maintenance as an after-thought.

Without effective supervision, the work not only diminishes in quality but almost inevitably becomes toxic.

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The good, the bad, and the ugly of implicit bias

• Cheryl Pritlove Cheryl Pritlove Affiliations Applied Health Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON M5B 1W8, Canada Search for articles by this author
• Clara Juando-Prats Clara Juando-Prats Affiliations Applied Health Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON M5B 1W8, Canada Search for articles by this author
• Kari Ala-leppilampi Kari Ala-leppilampi Affiliations Applied Health Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON M5B 1W8, Canada Search for articles by this author

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32267-0

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• Cheryl Pritlove and colleagues 1 comment on implicit bias and raise important issues about the place of women in science. We argue that their recommendations also apply to the conduct of health research itself. Tackling individual and structural implicit bias means not only increasing diversity among researchers and focusing more on gender minorities topic-wise (understanding minority in a political, not numerical, sense), but also thinking radically differently about it, deconstructing assumptions to better measure the gender-related social determinants of health.

• Corpus ID: 239871843

Unconscious Bias: How Might It Affect Social Work

• Published 2020
• Sociology, Psychology

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Defeating Unconscious Bias: The Role of a Structured, Reflective, and Interactive Workshop

Dotun ogunyemi.

Dotun Ogunyemi, MD, FACOG, MFM, is Chief Diversity Officer and Professor of Medical Education, Obstetrics & Gynecology, California University of Science and Medicine, and Designated Institutional Official and Associate Chief Medical Officer, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center

Associated Data

Unconscious or implicit biases are universal and detrimental to health care and the learning environment but can be corrected. Historical interventions used the Implicit Association Test (IAT), which may have limitations.

We determined the efficacy of an implicit bias training without using the IAT.

From April 2019 to June 2020, a 90-minute educational workshop was attended by students, residents, and faculty. The curriculum included an interactive unconscious biases presentation, videoclips using vignettes to demonstrate workplace impact of unconscious biases with strategies to counter, and reflective group discussions. The evaluation included pre- and postintervention surveys. Participants were shown images of 5 individuals and recorded first impressions regarding trustworthiness and presumed profession to unmask implicit bias.

Of approximately 273 participants, 181 were given the survey, of which 103 (57%) completed it with significant increases from pre- to postintervention assessments for perception scores (28.87 [SEM 0.585] vs 32.73 [0.576], P < .001) and knowledge scores (5.68 [0.191] vs 7.22 [0.157], P < .001). For a White male physician covered in tattoos, only 2% correctly identified him as a physician, and 60% felt he was untrustworthy. For a smiling Black female astronaut, only 13% correctly identified her as an astronaut. For a brooding White male serial killer, 50% found him trustworthy.

Conclusions

An interactive unconscious bias workshop, performed without the use of an IAT, was associated with increases in perceptions and knowledge regarding implicit biases. The findings also confirmed inaccurate first impression stereotypical assumptions based on ethnicity, outward appearances, couture, and media influences.

We determined if implicit bias training without using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) is feasible.

A brief interactive workshop without using IAT can increase knowledge and perceptions of implicit bias and introduce the principle of intersectionality.

Limitations

External generalizability was limited by selection and participation bias.

Bottom Line

A brief interactive implicit bias workshop intervention can be used to train residents, other learners, faculty, and coordinators in the medical education continuum.

Introduction

Unconscious or implicit biases are attitudes or stereotypes that arise from preformed mental associations, which influence our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. 1 Unconscious biases are universal and have adverse consequences for the workplace, health care, and the learning environment. 2 – 4 Studies show that clinicians' negative implicit bias correlated with poorer quality of care, inadequate clinician-patient communication, and health care disparities and inequities. 3 – 8 Unconscious biases adversely affect faculty recruitment and promotion, including the persistent underrepresentation of Black Americans and other minorities in medicine, further exacerbating racial health care disparities. 9 , 10 Unconscious bias has been shown to be malleable and correctable with training. 2 , 10 Consequently, strategies to mitigate unconscious bias are needed in medical education. Previously reported unconscious bias trainings have revealed that Implicit Association Tests (IAT) are ubiquitous. 10 Studies have shown that IATs may induce defensiveness triggering denial of bias and existence of health disparities. 11 Critics suggest that instead of reflecting authentic negative attitudes, IAT scores may stem from other associations such as victimization, maltreatment, and oppression. 11 , 12 Authors of the IATs have noted that the tool may not reflect actual biases or acts of discrimination related to identified preferences. 4 Subsequently, the objective of this study was to determine: (1) if a brief educational workshop can increase knowledge and perceptions regarding unconscious bias, and (2) show that inaccurate first impressions can be elicited without the IATs.

This was a retrospective study of an educational workshop presented from April 2019 to June 2020. The workshop was developed from the knowledge gained by the author on completing the Association of American Medical Colleges Healthcare Executive Diversity and Inclusion Certificate (provided as online supplementary data). Kern's 6-step approach for curriculum development was used. 12 The conceptual framework utilized was “situated learning-guided participation” in which didactic and interactive activities facilitate independent learning. 13

The 90-minute educational workshop included an interactive presentation on unconscious bias. To briefly demonstrate implicit bias, participants were rapidly shown images of 5 individuals in succession and they recorded their first impressions of the persons regarding trustworthiness and presumed profession. This workshop also taught intersectionality, which is a theoretical framework conceptualizing that multiple social categories (eg, race, gender, sexual orientation, poverty) intersect to reflect multiple interlocking systems of privilege and oppression at the social-structural level (eg, racism, sexism, heterosexism). 14

The workshop utilized video clips of situational vignettes to demonstrate the impact of unconscious bias. Participants reflected on experiences of unconscious bias and mitigating strategies in small groups ( Table 1 ). The workshop was presented at the 2019 CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting in New Orleans. Subsequently it was presented in multiple voluntary sessions to medical students, residents, and faculty in internal medicine, family medicine, psychiatry, and obstetrics and gynecology departments at California University of Science and Medicine and Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.

Agenda for the Unconscious Bias Reflective and Interactive Workshop

A survey consisting of 9 perception and 11 knowledge questions on implicit bias was assessed for clarity and reliability by content experts and repeat testing. The survey was completed pre- and posteducational workshop to assess short-term learning (provided as online supplementary data). The survey was not offered to the incoming class of 92 medical students because of time constraints of the orientation schedule.

Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 21.0 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY). Student's t tests were performed with calculation of 95% confidence interval and odds ratio with a P value of .05 as significant. The first impressions data was tabulated, and percentages of correct responses reported.

The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of California University of Science and Medicine.

Of approximately 181 participants, 103 (57%) respondents completed the surveys, including 28 (36%) females, 49 (64%) males, and 26 with missing gender. Twenty-three (22%) had previously taken the IATs, while 24 (22%) had previous implicit bias training. There were 61 (59%) physician faculty, 24 (23%) residents, 4 (4%) program coordinators, and 2 (2%) students. Medical specialties included 33 (38%) obstetrics and gynecology, 33 (38%) family medicine, 9 (10%) internal medicine, and 11 (13%) psychiatry. Sixty-three (61%) participants attended workshops in San Bernardino, California, while 40 participated at the APGO conference.

The results of testing for first impressions revealed that for a White male physician community advocate covered in tattoos and dressed in jeans, 2% correctly identified him as a physician. For a smiling Black woman astronaut, 13% correctly identified her as an astronaut. Of a brooding White male serial killer, 50% found him trustworthy. For a Cameroonian attorney, many incorrectly assumed she was Maya Angelou, and thus labeled her a writer ( Table 2 ).

Participants' First Impressions Regarding Trustworthiness and Likely Profession of Images of 5 Individuals Shown in Rapid Succession

Note: Results are in percentages participants who completed the first impression surveys (N = 91).

There were significant increases from pre- to postintervention assessments for the total perception scores (28.87 [SEM 0.585] vs 32.73 [0.576], P < .001) and total knowledge scores (5.68 [0.191] vs 7.22 [0.157], P < .001). All 9 perception questions including only 4 of the 11 knowledge questions increased significantly after the intervention ( Table 3 ). Significant subgroup differences are reported as online supplementary data.

Preintervention and Postintervention Scores of the Unconscious Bias Workshop a

Abbreviation: NS, non-significant.

This study demonstrates that a 90-minute interactive workshop significantly increased perception and knowledge regarding unconscious bias. Implicit bias may contribute to health care disparities by influencing physician behavior resulting in differences in medical treatment along race, gender, or other characteristics. 1 , 15 Thus curricular activities allowing physicians to become aware of their biases may facilitate the provision of patient-centered care.

This intervention can be utilized for residents, other learners, faculty, and coordinators in the medical education continuum. Furthermore, a literature review of implicit bias training only revealed reports on medical students training with none noted on GME training. 16 – 24 This current study adds to the literature by reporting an educational workshop focused on all GME that detected biases in real time without a formal IAT.

In contrast to previous reports that utilized IATs, this study's participants recorded first impressions after brief exposures to images of real individuals with multiple identities that highlighted the principle of intersectionality. For example, a lesbian Black woman in African garb (4 oppressed identities) was not identified as a lawyer, while a young Black female astronaut (3 oppressed identities) was identified as an actress. A White male (2 privileged identities) serial killer was trusted by 50% and identified as a professor, while a tattooed and informally dressed White man (2 privileged and 2 oppressed identities) was not recognized as a doctor. These findings confirmed inaccurate first impression stereotypical assumptions based on ethnicity, outward appearances, couture, and media influences. These findings confirm that biases can be detected without relying on the use of a formal IAT and its limitations.

Limitations of this study included the likelihood of participation bias since approximately 57% of the participants completed the surveys. Selection bias may have occurred since participants self-selected. Ethnic data was not collected. Barriers to implementation include time to identify and train facilitators. Institutions and departments would have to prioritize implicit bias training and provide protected time for both faculty and residents. The workshop is relatively inexpensive, acceptable, and feasible with faculty time commitment as the major cost. The organization and planning of this program would require about 4 hours, and the workshop presentation would require approximately 2 hours to implement.

This study has demonstrated that a brief interactive workshop without using IAT can be implemented to increase knowledge and perceptions of unconscious bias.

Supplementary Material

Funding: The author reports no external funding source for this study.

Conflict of interest: The author declares no competing interests.

The abstract was presented at CREOG and APGO Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, February 27–March 2, 2019.

Identifying Biases in the Practice of Social Work Supervisees: Findings from a Grounded Theory Exploratory Study

• Original Paper
• Published: 24 October 2023
• Volume 51 , pages 415–426, ( 2023 )

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• Sarah Ross Bussey   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7702-5538 1  

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Social work’s ethical mandate to engage in social justice, coupled with its fraught history of complicity in oppressive policies, makes critical the disruption of bias and racism within social work practice. As influencers and guides in clinical learning, social work supervisors have the potential to disrupt racism. There is an emerging body of literature on how to effectively engage in culturally-conscious social work supervision. However, research on anti-racism supervisory strategies in social work is limited and predominantly conceptual. This exploratory qualitative study’s aim was to identify strategies used by social work supervisors who self-identify as “anti-racist” to disrupt racism in the practice of their supervisees. The major findings of this study include a foundational element in this process: the identification of biases. Based on these findings, this article outlines strategies that social workers can use to detect bias in their staff, as well as other implications for social work practice and research.

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Bussey, S.R. Identifying Biases in the Practice of Social Work Supervisees: Findings from a Grounded Theory Exploratory Study. Clin Soc Work J 51 , 415–426 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-023-00901-2

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Check Your Bias: Resources to Unlearn Implicit Bias

Staff Writer | Updated/Verified: March 24, 2024

We often hold attitudes, feelings, perceptions, stereotypes, and thoughts about people or groups, sometimes without us even knowing. These thoughts and feelings are considered ‘ implicit ’ when we are unaware of them, yet they exist. Bias comes when, instead of remaining neutral, we have an aversion to or a preference for a particular group of people. These biases are inherent in our beings, as proven by researchers at the University of Washington in 1970, but they do not have to rule us. 

We can unlearn biases, retrain our thoughts, open our minds to new people and experiences, and, in essence, ‘check’ our biases before interacting with others at work, school, healthcare, or public servants. Using these tools, our bias(es) won’t impact how we treat others; we can learn to remove them altogether. 

The resources below help us explore, examine, and uncover our implicit biases, giving us tools to identify and then discard them. You’ll find tests to determine where you may have your own biases, research, and data to support the need to work on our implicit biases, books, videos, and other resources, along with a special section for those who work in helping professions.

Learn About and Test Your Implicit Bias

Project Implicit  

Project Implicit is a nonprofit organization devoted to ending stereotypes and biases today through research and programs and its online library.

Unconscious Bias Training That Works  

Two women co-authored this article to discuss the best methods that teach others about hidden biases and how simply knowing they exist isn’t enough.

Implicit Bias and Stereotypes 

IDEAS in Action designed this page to help readers learn about implicit bias, its science, and the best way to overcome individual bias.

Test Your Implicit Bias – Implicit Association Test (IAT)  

Loyola Marymount University offers a free test you can take on your computer to see what implicit biases you have and what to do next.

Implicit Bias  

The National Initiative for Building Community Trust & Justice examines implicit bias to explain its meaning and impact.

Implicit Bias and Structural Racialization  

Use this page from the National Equity Project. It examines implicit bias and helps you find training programs and other services.

Understanding Implicit Bias and its Detriment to Organizations

Michael Bret Hood uses facts and stats about organization training programs to show that implicit bias exists and that employers still need to do more.

American Psychological Association  

Use the APA to get help learning about implicit bias and finding free resources that show you how to combat microaggressions and understand diversity.

Implicit Bias Training  

Paradigm offers implicit bias training programs for employers and organizations to help them combat the adverse effects those biases have.

Implicit Bias Module Series  

The Kirwan Institute offers a course designed to help you learn about implicit bias and its effects in this video, which is also available as a transcript.

Implicit Bias Workshops  

You can learn about unconscious and implicit biases and access an extensive toolkit by attending the University of Oregon workshop.

The March of Dimes offers implicit bias training programs that take place online for six months and help you learn about the programs on its website.

Scholarly Articles

Twelve Tips for Teaching Implicit Bias Recognition and Management  

In this article, find the 12 best tips teachers can use to teach students about bias and how they can overcome it.

Resources for Faculty Development: Implicit Bias, Deficit Thinking, and Active Learning  

Designed for faculty members and educators, this article provides them with the resources needed to avoid biases at work.

Mindfulness Practice: A Promising Approach to Reducing the Effects of Clinician Implicit Bias on Patients  

This piece from ScienceDirect looks at some approaches that might reduce professionals’ biases when working with patients.

Minimizing and Addressing Implicit Bias in the Workplace: Be Proactive, Part One  

This is part one of a series of articles discussing how employees can be proactive and limit the effects of their implicit biases.

Implicit Bias Reflects the Personal and the Social  

In this detailed article, Learn about implicit biases’ impact on your personal life and social relationships.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Implicit Bias  

This article, available as a PDF, explores the benefits of implicit bias and its downsides.

The Bias of Crowds: How Implicit Bias Bridges Personal and Systemic Prejudice  

Keith Payne and several others researched implicit biases among groups to focus on how those thoughts lead to prejudice and similar problems.

Proactive Control of Implicit Bias: A Theoretical Model and Implications for Behavior Change  

Read the results of four experiments to see how proactive actions can force changes in behavior that reduce implicit biases.

Unconscious Bias Is a Human Condition  

In this piece, Mihal Emberton discusses how unconscious bias is a part of the human condition and examines professions like teachers and police officers.

Unconscious Bias in the Classroom: Evidence and Opportunities  

Released in 2017, this PDF helps you understand the educational system gaps based on the existing biases and experiences.

The Impact of Unconscious Bias in Healthcare: How to Recognize and Mitigate It  

Please read this detailed article to learn more about the healthcare industry’s biases and how to recognize and overcome them.

How to Think about ‘Implicit Bias’  

The authors behind this piece look at some of the common stereotypes found today and how those stereotypes are a form of implicit bias.

Are You Biased? Yes, You Are.  

This piece teaches that everyone has biases and discusses some of the best ways to overcome or eliminate them from daily life.

Disrupting the Impacts of Implicit Bias  

In this article, learn about how and why biases exist and some recent research into the concept and how to change them.

Everyone is a Little Biased  

The author of this piece addresses the biases that most people have, the difference between implicit and explicit biases, and how people can overcome them.

Understanding Implicit Bias: What Educators Should Know  

Cheryl Staats discusses some of the biases within the educational field and what educators need to know about them to protect and help their students.

Turning a Light on Our Implicit Biases  

Brett Milano wrote for the Harvard Gazette about a recent lecture that focused on the biases in educational fields and how those biases affect the way people act.

With Implicit Bias Hurting Patients, Some States Train Doctors  

Michael Ollave looks at the implicit biases within the healthcare field, how those biases hurt patients, and the training some states launched to help.

Battling Implicit Bias  

Discover how training programs can help professionals battle their implicit biases and some of the best ways to launch these programs.

Why We Must Understand and Address Implicit Bias  

This student’s piece examines the effects of implicit biases in different fields and on various groups and how to combat them.

The Complicated Battle Over Unconscious-Bias Training  

In this article, Christine Ro examines the bias training launched by major employers and how those programs may do more harm than good.

The Leader’s Guide to Unconscious Bias: How To Reframe Bias, Cultivate Connection, and Create High-Performing Teams  

Learn how to recognize and overcome the bias that exists in the workplace in this book, which reviewers call one of the definitive books on the subject.

Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People  

The authors of this book use straightforward language to break down hidden biases and explain how even good people may have biases they don’t know.

Implicit Bias: An Educator’s Guide to the Language of Microaggressions  

The biases that exist in education are the focus of this book, which talks about some of the different types, especially those relating to LGBTQ+ students.

Overcoming Bias: Building Authentic Relationships across Differences  

Discover some of the biases in the modern world and how you can overcome them in this book, which also looks at how to build genuine relationships.

Unconscious Bias in Schools: A Developmental Approach to Exploring Race and Racism, Revised Edition  

This book uses real-life examples to discuss the biases found today and why some people develop them while working in schools and school systems.

Tools for Identifying Implicit Bias & Expanding Self-Awareness  

Get more help identifying and overcoming biases in this book, which acts as a toolkit and includes resources for readers of all ages.

The Secret Life of Decisions: How Unconscious Bias Subverts Your Judgement  

Every decision you make impacts others, so this book focuses on decision-making and how unconscious biases affect your choices.

Thinking, Fast and Slow  

This book topped The New York Times list as more than two million readers found its discussion of the two ways of thinking about bias helpful.

Race on the Brain: What Implicit Bias Gets Wrong About the Struggle for Racial Justice  

This book teaches about racial justice and the struggles some face due to implicit biases in the modern world.

Reproducing Racism: How Everyday Choices Lock In White Advantage  

Learn how to change the way you think about subjects, especially racism, in this book that focuses on the advantages that white people have.

Diversity Beyond Lip Service: A Coaching Guide for Challenging Bias  

The author of this book created a detailed coaching guide to help others learn how to promote diversity and challenge biases simultaneously.

Social Justice

Social Justice: Implicit Bias and Microaggressions  

The School of Law at Howard University designed this guide to help students and others find social justice resources, such as the books in its library.

Framing Implicit Bias Impact Reduction in Social Justice Leadership  

Learn more about The Social Justice Leadership for Implicit Bias Impact Reduction Framework and how this concept could end implicit biases.

Social Bias, Discrimination and Inequity in Healthcare: Mechanisms, Implications and Recommendations  

Check out this article to see how social bias applies to different topics like sexism and racism in this article, which also looks at how to overcome those biases.

Implicit Bias: A Foundation for School Psychologists  

Not only does this article go over what school psychologists must do to limit and prevent biases, but it also includes a case study that looks at a practicing psychologist.

Social Justice in Our Minds, Homes, and Society: The Nature, Causes, and Consequences of Implicit Bias  

Social injustice is the key focus of this article, which looks at what occurs due to implicit bias and what causes people to feel the way they do.

Implicit Bias and Structural Inequity  

This PDF, available through the National Equity Project, explains some of the reasons why people have natural biases, such as the things they learn in school.

In this piece, the University of Westminster defines implicit bias and examines the historical context to explain how we arrived at this point.

Addressing Implicit Bias in the Social-Impact Sector  

Lakshmi Hutchinson addresses the biases in the workplace and what workers can do to overcome their preconceived notions.

Equity & Social Justice Advisory Group Resources: Assessing your Bias  

See how you can identify any inherent biases through this piece, which also goes over the best ways to overcome those thoughts and feelings.

A Framework for Anti-Bias Education  

The Learning for Justice released its standards online to help others see what they include, such as avoiding biased speech and working together to identify problems.

Social and Racial Justice as Fundamental Goals for the Field of Human Development  

This article focuses on women and gender issues. It will help you learn more about social and racial justice and the best ways to achieve equality.

Implicit Bias Defined  

Spend just a few minutes watching this video from the National Education Association to discover what implicit bias means.

Implicit Bias – Concepts Unwrapped  

This video, created by a department at the University of Texas at Austin, covers the basics of implicit bias and its overall meaning.

Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Racism  

The connection between racism and implicit bias becomes clear in this PBS video that compares the two topics to peanut butter and jelly.

We All Have Implicit Biases. So What Can We Do About It?  

Dushaw Hockett uses his video to talk about how everyone suffers from some bias and that there are things they can do about it.

Implicit Bias Video Series  

You can understand implicit bias better by watching just one of these videos or covering multiple subjects as you watch the whole series.

What is Implicit Bias?  

The Center for Prevention in Minnesota designed this video to cover the fundamentals of implicit bias and why it persists.

UCLA  

UCLA offers an entire video series devoted to implicit bias, and you can watch all of them or just those that interest you.

Implicit Bias in Action  

Watch this video from the Center for Urban Education to see practical examples of bias in action to understand the term better.

Check Our Bias to Wreck Our Bias  

This episode is just one from The New York Times series that focuses on internal biases and how to overcome them.

Implicit Bias Toolbox  

Not only does this video go over implicit biases, but it also provides a toolkit to help viewers change the way they think.

Implicit Bias in Medicine  

Jonathon LaPook designed this video to focus on implicit bias and the biases existing in the medical field and among healthcare professionals.

In Helping Professionals

Unconscious Bias and the Public Servant: What Can We Do to Overcome Unconscious Bias?  

Kiana Atkins wrote a detailed piece on the unconscious biases of public servants and what can be done to overcome those biases.

From the Maryland Department of Health, this PDF goes over the training program it offers to help healthcare professionals overcome their personal biases.

Understanding Implicit Bias in Public Defender Social Workers  

The student behind this thesis looked at the implicit biases that social workers in public defender roles have and how they affect their clients.

Beyond Colorblindness: Addressing Racial Trauma and Racial Bias in Social Work  

Alexandra Pajack used her experiences as a social worker to address the issues of racial bias and trauma and how those issues affect others.

National Institutes of Health  

The National Institutes of Health offers multiple free resources for those who want to learn about implicit bias, including several documents they can download.

Implicit/Unconscious Bias in the Human Services  

This video from UC Davis spends nearly nine minutes discussing the unconscious and implicit biases in the human services field today.

Globalization, Social Justice, and the Helping Professions  

Grab a copy of this book to learn how globalization and social justice affect those in the helping professions and what they can do to overcome their biases.

Eye on Ethics  

Published by Social Work Today, this article from 2006 includes real experiences from a licensed social worker and how she faced ethical situations on the job.

The Helping Professional as an Advocate  

Read this piece to see the helping professional’s role and how that individual needs to advocate for their clients without using any previous biases.

Cavan Bordelon is a Louisiana native who launched a highly-rated podcast that tackles subjects relating to implicit bias.

The Mind Of The Village: Understanding Our Implicit Biases  

Listen to this podcast to hear several professionals discuss what causes implicit biases and why they’re shared among certain groups.

Speaking of Psychology: Can We Unlearn Implicit Biases? With Mahzarin Banaji, PhD  

Hosted by the APA, this podcast talks about unconscious thoughts and how those thoughts can lead to biases, especially among disenfranchised groups.

Code Switch  

Code Switch is a popular podcast that won the Show of the Year award in 2020 and brings in people of different colors to talk about their struggles and experiences.

Included: The Disability Equity Podcast  

The Included podcast features more than 40 episodes and delves into some biases among disabled people in healthcare and other fields.

Decolonize Social Work  

Decolonize Social Work focuses on racial bias among social workers and the best ways to change their actions to help everyone.

Understanding Unconscious Bias  

In Understanding Unconscious Bias, you’ll learn how the brain processes data and why past experiences can lead to your current biases.

Unconscious Bias School Project  

You will want to listen to every episode of this podcast that talks with and to students in various schools about their experiences with implicit biases.

Know Better, Do Better  

Marie Beecham changed the name of her podcast to focus more on how we can eliminate biases as she discusses racism and similar topics.

The Social Matters Podcast  

Three social workers launched this podcast, which examines common issues within the social work industry and how they affect those who need help.

Racism and Bias

Racial Bias and Discrimination  

Pew Research has a series of articles on racial bias and discrimination that cover topics like black workers and how Americans think.

Eliminating Racism and Bias in Schools: The School Counselor’s Role  

This PDF focuses on what school counselors can do in their positions to eliminate racism and reduce the biases they usually see and experience.

Racism in Health: The Harms of Biased Medicine  

Nature shared this podcast to help others learn about medical biases and how they affect patients and their treatment.

Talking About Race  

Two organizations collaborated on this piece to discuss the different biases and provide readers with some things to consider.

Reducing Racial Bias Among Health Care Providers: Lessons from Social-Cognitive Psychology  

This research article discusses the disparities in healthcare caused by implicit biases and the best methods for reducing those issues.

Understanding Discrimination and Bias  

The Jed Foundation discusses the different types of biases, how they relate to discrimination, and how to replace your biases here.

Pointless Diversity Training  

Mike Noon wrote his article to talk about the diversity training some workplaces offer and why that training is often useless regarding biases.

The Far-Reaching Impacts of Racism and Bias  

Read through this piece to see the impact that racism has on the modern world and why internal biases are so harmful, especially in terms of race.

The National Equality Project wrote about the things to consider that lead to racism, including what we learn in school and our experiences.

Racism, Bias, and Discrimination  

Available from the APA, this page features many resources on racism, bias, and discrimination, such as how grief affects certain races in different ways.

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How Does Implicit Bias Influence Behavior?

Strategies to Reduce the Impact of Implicit Bias

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• Measurement
• Discrimination

An implicit bias is an unconscious association, belief, or attitude toward any social group. Implicit biases are one reason why people often attribute certain qualities or characteristics to all members of a particular group, a phenomenon known as stereotyping .

It is important to remember that implicit biases operate almost entirely on an unconscious level . While explicit biases and prejudices are intentional and controllable, implicit biases are less so.

A person may even express explicit disapproval of a certain attitude or belief while still harboring similar biases on a more unconscious level. Such biases do not necessarily align with our own sense of self and personal identity. People can also hold positive or negative associations about their own race, gender, religion, sexuality, or other personal characteristics.

Causes of Implicit Bias

While people might like to believe that they are not susceptible to these implicit biases and stereotypes, the reality is that everyone engages in them whether they like it or not. This reality, however, does not mean that you are necessarily prejudiced or inclined to discriminate against other people. It simply means that your brain is working in a way that makes associations and generalizations.

In addition to the fact that we are influenced by our environment and stereotypes that already exist in the society into which we were born, it is generally impossible to separate ourselves from the influence of society.

You can, however, become more aware of your unconscious thinking and the ways in which society influences you.

It is the natural tendency of the brain to sift, sort, and categorize information about the world that leads to the formation of these implicit biases. We're susceptible to bias because of these tendencies:

• We tend to seek out patterns . Implicit bias occurs because of the brain's natural tendency to look for patterns and associations in the world. Social cognition , or our ability to store, process, and apply information about people in social situations, is dependent on this ability to form associations about the world.
• We like to take shortcuts . Like other cognitive biases , implicit bias is a result of the brain's tendency to try to simplify the world. Because the brain is constantly inundated with more information than it could conceivably process, mental shortcuts make it faster and easier for the brain to sort through all of this data.
• Our experiences and social conditioning play a role . Implicit biases are influenced by experiences, although these attitudes may not be the result of direct personal experience. Cultural conditioning, media portrayals, and upbringing can all contribute to the implicit associations that people form about the members of other social groups.

How Implicit Bias Is Measured

The term implicit bias was first coined by social psychologists Mahzarin Banaji and Tony Greenwald in 1995. In an influential paper introducing their theory of implicit social cognition, they proposed that social behavior was largely influenced by unconscious associations and judgments.

In 1998, Banaji and Greenwald published their now-famous Implicit Association Test (IAT) to support their hypothesis . The test utilizes a computer program to show respondents a series of images and words to determine how long it takes someone to choose between two things.

Subjects might be shown images of faces of different racial backgrounds, for example, in conjunction with either a positive word or a negative word. Subjects would then be asked to click on a positive word when they saw an image of someone from one race and to click on a negative word when they saw someone of another race.

Interpreting the Results

The researchers suggest that when someone clicks quickly, it means that they possess a stronger unconscious association.   If a person quickly clicks on a negative word every time they see a person of a particular race, the researchers suggest that this would indicate that they hold an implicit negative bias toward individuals of that race.

In addition to a test of implicit racial attitudes, the IAT has also been utilized to measure unconscious biases related to gender, weight, sexuality, disability, and other areas. The IAT has grown in popularity and use over the last decade, yet has recently come under fire.

Among the main criticisms are findings that the test results may lack reliability . Respondents may score high on racial bias on one test, and low the next time they are tested.

Also of concern is that scores on the test may not necessarily correlate with individual behavior. People may score high for a type of bias on the IAT, but those results may not accurately predict how they would relate to members of a specific social group.

Link Between Implicit Bias and Discrimination

It is important to understand that implicit bias is not the same thing as racism, although the two concepts are related. Overt racism involves conscious prejudice against members of a particular racial group and can be influenced by both explicit and implicit biases.

Other forms of discrimination that can be influenced by unconscious biases include ageism , sexism, homophobia, and ableism.

One of the benefits of being aware of the potential impact of implicit social biases is that you can take a more active role in overcoming social stereotypes, discrimination, and prejudice.

Effects of Implicit Bias

Implicit biases can influence how people behave toward the members of different social groups. Researchers have found that such bias can have effects in a number of settings, including in school, work, and legal proceedings.

Implicit Bias in School

Implicit bias can lead to a phenomenon known as stereotype threat in which people internalize negative stereotypes about themselves based upon group associations. Research has shown, for example, that young girls often internalize implicit attitudes related to gender and math performance.  

By the age of 9, girls have been shown to exhibit the unconscious beliefs that females have a preference for language over math.   The stronger these implicit beliefs are, the less likely girls and women are to pursue math performance in school. Such unconscious beliefs are also believed to play a role in inhibiting women from pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

Studies have also demonstrated that implicit attitudes can also influence how teachers respond to student behavior, suggesting that implicit bias can have a powerful impact on educational access and academic achievement.

One study, for example, found that Black children—and Black boys in particular—were more likely to be expelled from school for behavioral issues. When teachers were told to watch for challenging behaviors, they were more likely to focus on Black children than on White children.

Implicit Bias In the Workplace

While the Implicit Attitude Test itself may have pitfalls, these problems do not negate the existence of implicit bias. Or the existence and effects of bias, prejudice, and discrimination in the real world. Such prejudices can have very real and potentially devastating consequences.

One study, for example, found that when Black and White job seekers sent out similar resumes to employers, Black applicants were half as likely to be called in for interviews as White job seekers with equal qualifications.

Such discrimination is likely the result of both explicit and implicit biases toward racial groups.

Even when employers strive to eliminate potential bias in hiring, subtle implicit biases may still have an impact on how people are selected for jobs or promoted to advanced positions. Avoiding such biases entirely can be difficult, but being aware of their existence and striving to minimize them can help.

Implicit Bias in Healthcare Settings

Certainly, age, race, or health condition should not play a role in how patients get treated, however, implicit bias can influence quality healthcare and have long-term impacts including suboptimal care, adverse outcomes, and even death.

For example, one study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that physicians with high scores in implicit bias tended to dominate conversations with Black patients and, as a result, the Black patients had less confidence and trust in the provider and rated the quality of their care lower.  

Researchers continue to investigate implicit bias in relation to other ethnic groups as well as specific health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, mental health, and substance use disorders.

Implicit Bias in Legal Settings

Implicit biases can also have troubling implications in legal proceedings, influencing everything from initial police contact all the way through sentencing. Research has found that there is an overwhelming racial disparity in how Black defendants are treated in criminal sentencing.  

Not only are Black defendants less likely to be offered plea bargains than White defendants charged with similar crimes, but they are also more likely to receive longer and harsher sentences than White defendants.

Strategies to Reduce the Impact of Implict Bias

Implicit biases impact behavior, but there are things that you can do to reduce your own bias. Some ways that you can reduce the influence of implicit bias:

• Focus on seeing people as individuals . Rather than focusing on stereotypes to define people, spend time considering them on a more personal, individual level.
• Work on consciously changing your stereotypes . If you do recognize that your response to a person might be rooted in biases or stereotypes, make an effort to consciously adjust your response.
• Take time to pause and reflect . In order to reduce reflexive reactions, take time to reflect on potential biases and replace them with positive examples of the stereotyped group. 
• Adjust your perspective . Try seeing things from another person's point of view. How would you respond if you were in the same position? What factors might contribute to how a person acts in a particular setting or situation?
• Increase your exposure . Spend more time with people of different racial backgrounds. Learn about their culture by attending community events or exhibits.
• Practice mindfulness . Try meditation, yoga, or focused breathing to increase mindfulness and become more aware of your thoughts and actions.

While implicit bias is difficult to eliminate altogether, there are strategies that you can utilize to reduce its impact. Taking steps such as actively working to overcome your biases , taking other people's perspectives, seeking greater diversity in your life, and building your awareness about your own thoughts are a few ways to reduce the impact of implicit bias.

A Word From Verywell

Implicit biases can be troubling, but they are also a pervasive part of life. Perhaps more troubling, your unconscious attitudes may not necessarily align with your declared beliefs. While people are more likely to hold implicit biases that favor their own in-group, it is not uncommon for people to hold biases against their own social group as well.

The good news is that these implicit biases are not set in stone. Even if you do hold unconscious biases against other groups of people, it is possible to adopt new attitudes, even on the unconscious level.   This process is not necessarily quick or easy, but being aware of the existence of these biases is a good place to start making a change.

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Greenwald AG, Mcghee DE, Schwartz JL. Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The implicit association test . J Pers Soc Psychol. 1998;74(6):1464-1480. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.6.1464

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Capers Q, Clinchot D, McDougle L, Greenwald AG. Implicit racial bias in medical school admissions . Acad Med . 2017;92(3):365-369. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000001388

Kiefer AK, Sekaquaptewa D. Implicit stereotypes and women's math performance: How implicit gender-math stereotypes influence women's susceptibility to stereotype threat .  Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 2007;43(5):825-832. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2006.08.004

Steffens MC, Jelenec P, Noack P. On the leaky math pipeline: Comparing implicit math-gender stereotypes and math withdrawal in female and male children and adolescents .  Journal of Educational Psychology. 2010;102(4):947-963. doi:10.1037/a0019920

Edward Zigler Center in Child Development & Social Policy, Yale School of Medicine. Implicit Bias in Preschool: A Research Study Brief .

Pager D, Western B, Bonikowski B. Discrimination in a low-wage labor market: A field experiment . Am Sociol Rev. 2009;74(5):777-799. doi:10.1177/000312240907400505

Malinen S, Johnston L. Workplace ageism: Discovering hidden bias . Exp Aging Res. 2013;39(4):445-465. doi:10.1080/0361073X.2013.808111

Cooper LA, Roter DL, Carson KA, et al. The associations of clinicians' implicit attitudes about race with medical visit communication and patient ratings of interpersonal care . Am J Public Health . 2012;102(5):979-87. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300558

Leiber MJ, Fox KC. Race and the impact of detention on juvenile justice decision making .  Crime & Delinquency. 2005;51(4):470-497. doi:10.1177/0011128705275976

Van Ryn M, Hardeman R, Phelan SM, et al. Medical school experiences associated with change in implicit racial bias among 3547 students: A medical student CHANGES study report . J Gen Intern Med. 2015;30(12):1748-1756. doi:10.1007/s11606-015-3447-7

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

• Main Values in the Work of a Social Worker Words: 1135
• Personal and Professional Social Work Values Words: 633
• Competing Values, Social Work Words: 570
• Change Process in Social Work Words: 2379
• Theoretical Perspectives of Social Work Words: 1988
• Multicultural Competence in Social Work Words: 582
• Diversity and Cultural Competence in Social Work Words: 1296
• Social Work Practice: The Role of Implicit Bias Words: 1666
• Bias and Assumptions About the Poor Words: 924
• Representation of Social Work Identity Words: 1988
• Celebrating Social Work Month with Angelo McClain Words: 623
• Personal Professional Statement of Social Work: Path, Skills and Future Words: 1154

Assumptions, Values, Biases in Social Work

Definitions, importance of awareness, personal assumptions, values, biases, how to utilise assumption, values, and biases for social change.

Nowadays, people like to live in regards to their values, assumptions, and biases. However, several people continue making the same mistake again and again when they fail to comprehend true definitions of these terms in professional practice in human and social services. Therefore, it is not enough to comprehend the importance of assumptions, biases, and values but also to learn their meanings and comprehend their differences.

Assumptions are usually the things that are accepted as truths that should not have evidence but can be taken for granted. As a rule, assumptions shape human behaviour that is rooted in infancy. Values introduce the guidelines for people to follow (Littlechild, 2012). Values are usually the things that play an important role in human life because they predetermine human behaviour. Such things as equality, honesty, loyalty, and devotion are usually defined as values. Finally, there are biases, the types of prejudice that could be used for or against a person or an event (Jung, 2015).

The main difference between these three terms is the way they are accepted by society. Assumptions are defined as personal ideas that cannot be neglected if people want to stay honest with themselves, values are social norms that support people and show the correct and appropriate way, and biases are the characteristics that differentiate people and influence the ways of how people accept each other’s behaviour. Assumptions could be manifested as biases (Hanselman, Bruch, Gamoran, & Borman, 2014).

People need to be aware of their assumptions, values, and biases because they help to understand the essence of this life and the things that should matter. If there are no properly identified values, a person could hardly comprehend what step should be taken or even why this life is worth living. Values are what people believe in. If there are no beliefs, then there is no sense of life. People have to believe in something even if these are some simple and insignificant things as the colour of a shirt that should be worn or the behaviour that should be demonstrated during a social event. As soon as a person gains an understanding of personal assumptions and values, it is easy to organise this life and set the priorities. Biases should also be identified because they help to create the boundaries in regards to which some truth could be accepted, and some facts have to be ignored.

My assumption is closely connected to the importance of education and the necessity to follow the rules. I believe that any profession is a real challenge for people the completion of which should begin with education. As soon as a person decides to be educated, the first step is taken. Education helps to understand and develop personal values and biases with time. Besides, there are rules in human and social services that cannot be neglected. If a person breaks one rule, a system could work in the wrong way. The results of human actions can be hardly predicted, and success cannot be promoted. In regards to such assumptions, I also share such values as respect, good manners, and mutual support. I believe that people deserve the right to a second chance and additional help.

People could make mistakes that can be forgiven and understood. Still, the number of mistakes, as well as the nature of such mistakes, should have a limit. Therefore, biases are also important. I cannot avoid several biases in my life because it is easy for me to avoid such situations in order not to worsen my personal and professional lives. For example, I try to avoid the world of politics and the ideas imposed during political advertisements and vote periods. I do not believe in the worth of the promises given. Therefore, politicians seem to be the most insincere people on Earth. It is not necessary to have powers to be ready to help people. Many politicians believe that they should get special positions and possess several rights just to make an attempt and help someone. However, I know several people, who work at social services or ordinary stores, and who are always ready to provide some financial help or emotional support.

I cannot avoid social changes in my life. Therefore, I need to learn how to utilise my assumptions, values, and biases to create my harmony. My values and assumptions have much in common. Besides, they could be easily combined with my biases. Successful utilisation of all my beliefs is possible even if I am going to change something because if I truly believe in something, I could prove my opinions and help other people accept or, at least, understand my choices. Sometimes, it is not necessary to find appropriate theories and definitions to prove the correctness and appropriateness of assumptions. It is enough to demonstrate appropriate behaviour, develop interesting ideas, and be sincere with people around.

Hanselman, P., Bruch, S. K., Gamoran, A., & Borman, G. D. (2014). Threat in context: School moderation of the impact of social identity threat on racial/ethnic achievement gaps. Sociology of Education , 87 (2), 106-124.

Jung, Y. (2015). Post stereotypes: Deconstructing racial assumptions and biases through visual culture and confrontational pedagogy. Studies in Art Education, 56 (3), 214-227.

Littlechild, B. (2012). Values and cultural issues in social work. ERIS. Web.

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AI Analyzes the Social Work Licensing Exam, and Concerns Deepen

Using ChatGPT-generated test answers, researchers found the artificial intelligence responses offered “a compelling and sometimes better rationale” than what the official answer key shows .

How should a social worker coaching a domestic violence survivor offer advice about returning to an abusive partner? What are the first steps to help a foster child throwing temper tantrums whose parent is incarcerated? How can they tell if a client is maintaining sobriety?

On these and other questions, Michigan researchers have concluded that a computer-generated model scanning massive online datasets of texts, books, articles and webpages drew more accurate conclusions than the “correct” answers determined by the Association of Social Work Boards, which created and administers licensing exams for the nation’s social workers. 

The findings , published in March by the journal Research on Social Work Practice, concluded that answers that would have been marked incorrect on the exams instead represented a safer and more ethical response — raising fundamental questions about the validity of the test that serves as the gateway to the country’s frontline social service jobs.

“When you asked for the rationale for how the questions were answered when they were ‘incorrect,’ it was perfectly logical,” said one of the study’s authors, Wayne State University School of Social Work Dean Sheryl Kubiak. “Any instructor would have marked it as ‘correct,’ because it was bringing in the context.” 

According to the answers to the tests that AI came up with, some “correct” answers relied on dated concepts, or had little evidence to back them up. In other instances, the multiple-choice format failed to offer nuanced and informed approaches to delicate, high-stakes decisions, such as how to approach a deaf client when an interpreter cancels an appointment, or the best way to help children through the death of a parent.

The researchers were so concerned by the findings that their abstract calls on state regulators and legislators to temporarily suspend the exam created and administered by the Association of Social Work Boards, while a more “appropriate, effective, and ethical” test is developed.

They also offer cautious optimism for “generative AI” and “large language models” to inform the field of social work — joining a fast-growing chorus of critics and cheerleaders of computer programs that can simulate human thought processes and creation, methods now reaching into virtually all aspects of society.

In response to The Imprint’s request for comment, leaders of the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) said the licensing exams for clinical, bachelor’s and master’s level social work are rigorously vetted. They dismissed the study’s assertion that some of the questions are biased, outdated or based on poorly supported practice.

“Every correct answer is supported by a valid and current social work reference,” Senior Director of Examination Services Lavina Harless said in an email. 

The researchers were so concerned by the findings that their abstract calls on state regulators and legislators to temporarily suspend the exam.

Harless said that the exam questions are “thoroughly and continually reviewed by testing experts” and that any questions that show potential bias or don’t appropriately evaluate social work competency are not included on the final tests.

CEO Stacey Hardy-Chandler also responded by email, stating her organization updates the licensure exams every five to seven years, and that the process involves surveying thousands of social workers to ensure the questions reflect current practice. The association’s next analysis of the exam will begin in 2024. 

“ASWB is taking a rigorous and thoughtful approach to enhancing the licensing exams,” she said, but cautioned about any hasty changes.

“We are committed to being vigilant in our review of all available tools, including emerging technologies such as AI,” she added. “However, it is premature to jump to conclusions about the development of future exams based on the findings of a single study.” 

Multiple-choice format eliminates nuance of social work

The study was prompted by alarming racial disparities in the social worker licensing test passing rates revealed last year. The researchers set out to determine if artificial intelligence could suss out potential bias in the questions and “move us toward a more valid and equitable exam.”

Lead author and Wayne State University School of Social Work professor Bryan Victor and his team did not analyze the exam, which is not publicly available. Instead, they relied on an official set of practice questions.

Hardy-Chandler characterized the practice questions as “retired,” and not reflected in the actual exam. But in defending the analysis, Victor noted that the practice questions were pulled from the social work board’s online portal, and they are used by educators preparing students for the licensing exams.

“Our review of available documentation related to these exam questions revealed no indication that these questions are outdated or not aligned with current research, which could potentially mislead educators or students,” Victor wrote in an email.

His study relied on ChatGPT for its findings, which the authors describe as “currently taking the world by storm.” The artificial intelligence program was instructed to complete the practice questions for the licensing exam and explain why it selected its answers. This “think aloud” function helped researchers pinpoint potential problems with the questions, and the limited way test-takers could provide appropriate answers, particularly when they could only select one option in a multiple-choice format.

In some cases, the differences between the “correct” answer the ASWB identified and the “incorrect” one ChatGPT produced was a matter of nuance and depth. In one example described by researchers, both answers focused on properly engaging a client at a domestic violence shelter in a discussion about the choice to return to an abusive partner.

“The correct response according to ASWB was to encourage the client to further discuss their decision,” the study states, an answer “consistent with the ethical principle of self-determination.” 

ChatGPT selected a different response that it determined was more accurate. It specified that in discussions over the decision, the client, not the social worker, must guide the conversation. That distinction was key to a more accurate answer, the researchers stated, because the social worker must demonstrate acceptance of the client’s choice, even if it ends up being a return to the abusive partner. 

Doing otherwise, could “create further barriers to the client’s engagement,” the ChatGPT response concluded. “Allowing the client to direct the conversation and to express their thoughts and feelings can help to build trust and rapport between the client and the social worker,” which can increase “the likelihood that the client will be open to receiving support and services, regardless of their decision.”

The computer-generated response stated that the social worker should outline concerns about the risk of returning to the abusive partner, but noted the importance of doing so “in a non-judgmental and supportive manner.”

The multiple-choice format failed to offer nuanced and informed approaches to delicate, high-stakes decisions, such as how to approach a deaf client when an interpreter cancels an appointment.

One of the study’s authors Brian Perron — a professor of social work at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor — described the significance of this analysis in a follow-up article published last month by Towards Data Science: “By neglecting the complexity and context of actual practice, the exam is not adequately assessing the competence of social workers.” Perron concluded that “we have serious reservations about considering the ASWB exam key as the gold standard. The exam has flaws and biases, including using empirically unsupported test items.”

Previous exam controversy

Problems with the social worker licensing exam date back to at least 2010, when a study concluded it evaluated test-taking abilities more than competency to practice. And last year, a study published by the Association of Social Work Boards about its own licensing exam revealed gaping disparities in the pass rates based on race, age and native language. The study revealed that just 45% of Black test-takers passed the exam on the first try, compared with 84% of white test-takers. The disparity remained consistent on follow-up attempts, with 91% of white people eventually passing the test, compared to 57% of Black people. 

The ability to score well on standardized tests has long been found to reflect societal bias, pushing out people of color from success on qualifying exams for everything from college admission to the legal and pharmaceutical fields. According to a 2021 article published by the National Education Association, standardized tests “have been instruments of racism and a biased system.” 

Not every state requires social workers to pass an exam and receive a license to practice, but many do. And even when a license is not required, it can give social workers a strong advantage for upward mobility in their careers. 

The pass-rate disparity data rocked the social work field, confirming longstanding concerns about the consequential licensing exams. 

“It was both horrible, but also validating,” said Anthony Estreet, CEO of the National Association of Social Workers. “Validating the concerns that people have had for years in terms of the bias that is in the exam, but also validating to those that have failed the exam that it’s not them.”

Adding to the critiques, earlier this year the National Association of Social Workers — representing more than 100,000 members — announced formal opposition to the licensing exams. The influential body called for alternatives that promote “the diversity and well-being of the social work profession, and the health and well-being of the populations social workers serve.”

“An entirely new era”

Artificial intelligence is the latest tool to be used in a critique of the social work licensing exam. 

With its ability to mimic human output based on analysis of vast amounts of online data, AI has its own set of controversies — from privacy violations to job-loss driven by automation, the spread of misinformation and algorithmic bias. With sufficient regulation and used in proper ways, the method is also considered to be a powerful and effective tool, supporters argue.

The Michigan researchers decided to analyze the social work licensing exam with AI after learning of similar analyses conducted on the bar exam and medical licensing tests for doctors . On both, computer systems received high marks.

“We recognize this is an entirely new era of rapidly growing technologies, which necessarily requires the field to be cautious moving forward,” the Michigan researchers state. “Importantly, we want to be clear that we see generative AI models as tools that can help social workers, but we do not think these tools can replace social workers.”

“We want to be clear that we see generative AI models as tools that can help social workers, but we do not think these tools can replace social workers.” From the report, “Time to Move Beyond the ASWB Licensing Exams”

They go on to state some possible ways the emerging technology can inform the field.

For example, the authors describe a section of the social worker practice exam that presents a scenario and asks test-takers to select from four possible responses as to what the social worker should do “next” or “first.” 

In it, a foster child has an incarcerated father and a mother in a residential treatment program for alcoholism. The child is described as small for his age, behind on his speech, behind on schoolwork and throwing temper tantrums.

ChatGPT did not select any of the four responses provided on the practice test, which included “screen for fetal alcohol syndrome, develop a behavior modification plan, refer to special education, or pursue family reunification.”

Instead, it offered an answer that was not provided: The social worker should “gather more information and assess the child’s needs.” A comprehensive assessment would best determine the child’s developmental, behavioral and educational needs, as well as any past trauma or neglect, the computer-assisted program determined. Only then could the social worker decide on the appropriate interventions, such as a medical referral, special education services, working with foster parents on a behavior plan, or focusing on reunification with the biological mother, if appropriate. 

“We think the response of ChatGPT is the better answer — as do our colleagues with clinical expertise who we consulted — because the scenario does not contain enough contextual information to make an informed decision,” the Michigan study authors concluded. 

Another example when ChatGPT provided a different answer than ASWB developers involved a question about the “most likely emotional response” when adult children learn of a parent’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. The computer-generated response determined “a range of emotional reactions” are likely. “Denial” was the correct test answer — based on the “five stages of grief” introduced by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in 1969. “ASWB’s correct answer does not have sufficient empirical support to inform practice,” the Michigan study authors concluded, noting that health researchers have cautioned against the continued use of the Kübler-Ross model, which is widely considered to be outdated.

Professor Perron said inadequate context is a fundamental weakness of an exam based on just one correct answer that assesses the ability to perform a skill as subjective as social work. For that reason, he said, older test-takers whose answers may incorporate years of real-world professional and life experience are more likely to struggle with the ASWB exam format, compared with a recent graduate who is answering solely based on their classroom training. 

Kubiak, who co-chairs the National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work’s task force on the licensure exam, said people of color also bring a different perspective and set of experiences to social work scenarios that may not be captured or fairly assessed in the current licensing exam.

As a potential remedy, the research trio tested ChatGPT’s ability to “grade” short-answer questions. They fed the program a sample question, along with three potential responses, instructing it to determine which of the answers reflected safe and ethical social work practice. They reported that AI was able to do so, correctly identifying a plan to refer a queer client to conversion therapy as “harmful.” 

The researchers conclude the takeaway from this exercise was that shifting to a short-answer exam could better include the important context missing from the current multiple-choice format. 

Yet as with other data applications in social work, such as predictive analytics , artificial intelligence must be fully analyzed before it is put to use more broadly in the human services field, the researchers concluded, “because generative AI models are just in their infancy and still prone to frequent errors.” 

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Of primary concern are the massive amounts of internet data AI relies on to form its “intelligence.” Any bias that exists in that data is baked into its output. Mindful of this, the Michigan researchers state, if AI is to be used in future redesigns of the social work licensing exam, it would require experts collaborating with computer scientists to build in guardrails. 

“We’re a long way off from using AI in any kind of testing context,” Victor said in an interview. “We just wanted to put it on the table as one potential path forward that we think is worth exploring.”

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Unveiling Bias: Navigating Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

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Social Biases Essay

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Introduction

Definition of concepts, the differences between subtle and blatant bias, the impact of bias on the lives of individuals, strategies that can be used to overcome social biases.

The concept of Social bias can be defined as a negative attitude towards others. This is on the basis of their race, sex, religion or even groups. It can be conscious or unconscious. This attitude can either be expressed in speech or in writing. In other words, social bias can simply be defined as prejudicial attitudes. However, it is important to differentiate prejudicial attitudes from discriminative attitudes. Social biases entail individuals having thoughts which are not converted into actions.

If the thoughts are translated into action then it would be defined as discrimination. Discriminative attitudes is thus a situation in which people do actions or behave in a manner to indicate that they are different in terms of their culture or groups.

There are various forms of social biases. This paper is therefore going to study the concept social bias in relation to other concepts such as discrimination, prejudice and stereotyping. In addition, it is going to look into the differences between the subtle and blatant bias. Moreover, the paper is going to discuss the impact of bias behaviors towards people and the ways to overcome the social biases.

The concept of prejudice can be defined using different perspectives. The first perspective is the intellectual perspective and the second one is the behavioral. Prejudice basically entails having negative thoughts, feelings or opinion towards another person. This is usually done before obtaining all the details concerning that person.

In other words, they are as a result of hasty and faulty conclusion of things. In addition, the thoughts and feelings are not formed upon experience but rather based on the attitude of the society. The prejudice has a negative impact on the person in terms of physical space and social interaction. Prejudice is thus unjustified in any social setting because it has potential to cause harm on other people.

Stereotyping

Stereotyping is described as overgeneralization or oversimplification of a concept or belief about a group of people due to their gender, race, event or even origin. The basis of stereotype is usually prejudices and not facts. Stereotypes are mostly used to classify and analyze people into groups instead of appreciating people’s unique differences. It separates individuals into groups in which others see themselves as one group while at the same time see others as different groups.

This behavior results to discrimination or even ridicule of a person or a group by another. It is important to note that it does not encourage diversity in a group rather it leads to stigmatization. A good example of a stereotype is when one meets a reserved person from a given group or country and generalize that all the people from that country or group are reserved.

Discrimination

Discrimination is basically treating a person or a group of people differently from another or others. This is on the basis of their color, race, ethnicity or nationality. Discrimination can take two forms; direct or indirect discrimination. Direct discrimination is when certain characteristics are used to classify and treat others differently.

For example color, race and nationality are some of the characteristics used in direct discrimination. Indirect discrimination is when there some activities or things such as practices that are being carried out and they result to discriminative actions against other people. In most cases, the discriminated always take the disadvantaged position. Discrimination in other words involves taking subtle or overt pressure that end up discouraging other people from socially living their lives to the full.

It is important to note that prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination are concepts classified under the term social bias. They are seen to have negative consequences on people. However, the impacts of the negative consequences differ. This is because the degree of social biasness in all of them differs as well. It is for this reason that subtle and blatant biases are key terms in social bias so as to explain the degree of biasness. In other words, subtle and blatant are two extreme categories in the bias spectrum.

Blatant biases are created in one’s mind. They are biases which are best explained by prejudice and discrimination acts. On the bias range, blatant biases are more severe and have severe negative consequences. That is, it can result to people hurting others simply because they belong to a different group of people. This is usually influenced by thoughts and feelings formed in the group against another group (Fiske, 2004). This kind of bias is expressed by people who are aware of their actions and are proud of it.

On the other hand, subtle biases are not always intentional and thus their degree of biasness is usually low. However, subtle biases are also harmful just like any other bias. An example of subtle bias is when a person wants to be accepted in the society. In this case even though the person comes from the discriminated group, he/she may appear to be acceptable from outside but in the real terms the group has not fully accepted him/her.

The consequences of social biases are harmful to both groups, that is, the group biasing and the recipient. However, to the instigator the impact may be less harmful than the recipient. The extreme impacts are felt by the recipient. This is because they cause the emotional pain. In addition, social biases have negative impacts because they do not only affect the immediate persons involved but also the entire group.

The negative impacts of social biases can be overcome using various strategies. However, the task is not usually easy considering that it involves both emotional and cognitive components. One way of overcoming social bias is by avoiding division of groups. People should always work together despite their different backgrounds. This reduces the cases of competition hence no chance of developing hatred towards each other (Huffman, 2004).

Social biases result to hatred, anger as well as separation of people. Once developed, social biases become difficult to overcome. They have seen many people try to overcome them while others keep justifying the reasons for holding to them. It is important to understand that social biases do not lead to positive impacts and thus they should be avoided at all cost.

Individuals should know that differences exist among people and changes are bound to happen whenever different people come together. To overcome the social biases, people should know that it starts with self. No one should discriminate another on whatever basis. Instead, they should always seek to be united.

Fiske, S. (2004). Social Beings . Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Huffman, K. (2004). Psychology in Action . Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

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Britain’s Violent Riots: What We Know

Officials had braced for more unrest on Wednesday, but the night’s anti-immigration protests were smaller, with counterprotesters dominating the streets instead.

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By Lynsey Chutel

After days of violent rioting set off by disinformation around a deadly stabbing rampage, the authorities in Britain had been bracing for more unrest on Wednesday. But by nightfall, large-scale anti-immigration demonstrations had not materialized, and only a few arrests had been made nationwide.

Instead, streets in cities across the country were filled with thousands of antiracism protesters, including in Liverpool, where by late evening, the counterdemonstration had taken on an almost celebratory tone.

Over the weekend, the anti-immigration protests, organized by far-right groups, had devolved into violence in more than a dozen towns and cities. And with messages on social media calling for wider protests and counterprotests on Wednesday, the British authorities were on high alert.

With tensions running high, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet held emergency meetings to discuss what has become the first crisis of his recently elected government. Some 6,000 specialist public-order police officers were mobilized nationwide to respond to any disorder, and the authorities in several cities and towns stepped up patrols.

Wednesday was not trouble-free, however.

In Bristol, the police said there was one arrest after a brick was thrown at a police vehicle and a bottle was thrown. In the southern city of Portsmouth, police officers dispersed a small group of anti-immigration protesters who had blocked a roadway. And in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where there have been at least four nights of unrest, disorder continued, and the police service said it would bring in additional officers.

But overall, many expressed relief that the fears of wide-scale violence had not been realized.

Here’s what we know about the turmoil in Britain.

Where arrests have been reported

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Dataset Scale and Societal Consistency Mediate Facial Impression Bias in Vision-Language AI

• Wolfe, Robert
• Dangol, Aayushi
• Hiniker, Alexis

Multimodal AI models capable of associating images and text hold promise for numerous domains, ranging from automated image captioning to accessibility applications for blind and low-vision users. However, uncertainty about bias has in some cases limited their adoption and availability. In the present work, we study 43 CLIP vision-language models to determine whether they learn human-like facial impression biases, and we find evidence that such biases are reflected across three distinct CLIP model families. We show for the first time that the the degree to which a bias is shared across a society predicts the degree to which it is reflected in a CLIP model. Human-like impressions of visually unobservable attributes, like trustworthiness and sexuality, emerge only in models trained on the largest dataset, indicating that a better fit to uncurated cultural data results in the reproduction of increasingly subtle social biases. Moreover, we use a hierarchical clustering approach to show that dataset size predicts the extent to which the underlying structure of facial impression bias resembles that of facial impression bias in humans. Finally, we show that Stable Diffusion models employing CLIP as a text encoder learn facial impression biases, and that these biases intersect with racial biases in Stable Diffusion XL-Turbo. While pretrained CLIP models may prove useful for scientific studies of bias, they will also require significant dataset curation when intended for use as general-purpose models in a zero-shot setting.

• Computer Science - Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition;
• Computer Science - Artificial Intelligence;
• Computer Science - Computation and Language;
• Computer Science - Computers and Society;
• Computer Science - Machine Learning