The Hidden Cost of Bias: How Stereotypes Stifle our Opportunity

Cameron Brown

11/24/2024

WRIT 103-09

Dr. Entzminger

The Hidden Cost of Bias: How Stereotypes Stifle our Opportunity

We Americans are bombarded with bias every day, and we don’t even know it. This can happen in the workplace, at the store, or even while you’re walking down the street. A silent reminder of how prevalent prejudice is, a subtle glance of confusion, disdain, or discomfort toward someone going about their day. Research shows that 88 percent of Americans do this sort of biasing without malicious intent, and without realizing it. Therefore, understanding and taking steps to prevent this bias is critical to the development of our nation both socially and economically. You may ask, what should I look for or how do we get started? The answers lie below you, so let's begin.

There are two forms of bias: explicit and implicit. Explicit bias is when a person consciously, deliberately believes or stereotypes that affect a person’s decisions or attitudes, for example, racial profiling in hiring practices. For example, an employer may reject a candidate for a job based on his or her race or ethnicity even when the candidate is qualified for the job. On the other hand, implicit bias works subconsciously by influencing perceptions and behaviors without the person’s conscious knowledge. This type of prejudice is harder to identify, but just as important to note. In the medical field, for example, studies have shown that minority patients are less likely to receive effective treatments than other patients even if they have equal medical rights (FitzGerald and Hurst). Explicit and implicit biases perpetuate discrimination, but the latter is especially insidious, and it is the one that is most difficult to counteract through active strategies against prejudiced responses that are hardwired into our subconscious.

The bias listed above continues to become an obstacle to the economic progress of our country by creating barriers for minority communities to find opportunities to contribute. The White House Council of Economic Advisors reports that racial discrimination undermines key areas such as education, hiring practices, and wage equality in these communities. The underutilization of skills and talents from racially marginalized groups is a deadly loss to the economic potential of our nation. In fact, this misallocation of human potential has led to a jaw-dropping 4.9% loss of GDP per capita, amounting to roughly $1 trillion in missed economic activity over the years. This missed cash flow represents more than just a number, it’s a lost opportunity to address various critical issues we have lost our edge to. Affordable housing is a candle growing closer than ever to losing its spark, and our healthcare system’s lack of funding has failed to provide equitable and efficient care for all Americans. This structural bias doesn’t just harm individuals, but it also stifles innovation and reduces productivity.

What’s more troubling is how deeply embedded the biases of the average American lie inside of their subconscious. Studies from the Mind & Life Institute reveal that both implicit and explicit biases shape economic decisions in ways that reinforce inequities in the job market. These biases create a vicious cycle that not only weakens marginalized communities but the entire economic fabric of the nation as well. If we, as a nation, began to address the biases we have and reevaluate how we perceive and treat one another, the economic and social benefits could transform the future of our country for us and our children. The influx of new ideas could help America become a stronger and more self-sufficient superpower. Continuing a legacy that would make past and present generations proud. However, as long as these stereotypes and implicit biases continue, they’ll build the ever-growing barrier to progress impending on  our economy. The table talk jokes and offhand comments may seem funny and harmless, but if they continue to shape decisions for us and our children, the real punchline will be the opportunities we’ve missed.

Critics dismiss the significance of implicit bias, but research and evidence dismisses their arguments when you look closer. A common critique targets the Implicit Association Test (IAT), with skeptics claiming it is “unreliable” because it doesn’t always identify the unconscious behaviors in every test-taker. However, research by Anthony Greenwald demonstrates that the IAT has consistently predicted the bias hidden in a margin of participants, especially in the areas concerning hiring decisions and medical treatment. (“Understanding and Using the Implicit Association Test”). The claim that the IAT is useless is shortsighted because the idea that a test should be able to perfectly predict the behaviors in the mind of someone is wildly simplistic. The IAT does a great job of recognizing people's bias for being created only 16 years ago. The biases being targeted have been ingrained in the minds of many for decades longer, so the skeptic's way of thinking that a newly created test should be perfected so soon has little validity. 

Of course, implicit bias may not predict every individual action, but Keith Payne’s research highlights just a fraction of evidence that shows it shapes unconscious reactions during moments of racial tension or mistrust. The claim that focusing on implicit bias takes our resources from addressing broader structural inequalities is also misguided. There’s no reason why both propositions couldn’t be addressed simultaneously. Addressing implicit bias helps  to dismantle structural inequities because ingrained stereotypes lie in the people inside of those broader systems. Targeting both issues simultaneously, would  accelerate our progress toward meaningful solutions to help people of all backgrounds.

Rejecting the importance of implicit bias and the tools to address it stifles our ability to make a truly fair and just society. While no single solution can fully eradicate discrimination, committing to understanding and mitigating the bias in our brains is an essential step in the right direction. Embracing this effort alongside the addition of broader structural reforms will help legislators create a fairer, more inclusive future to reflect the true potential of all citizens in the land that we all call home.

In this paper I posed as an author for The Western Journal. The emphasis of a formal, more logistical approach in my writing aimed to reach for a style that mimics the website while mixing ethos and pathos to appeal to the audience. The emotional appeal to the audience’s emphasis on the health of the country attempts to keep the reader engaged while the research references from top scientists in the field reinforce the validity of the article. The organization is straightforward, by addressing each type of bias while following why we fix it and how to do so. 

Works Cited

Greenwald, Anthony G. "Understanding and Using the Implicit Association Test: III. Meta-analysis of Predictive Validity." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 97, no. 1, 2009, pp. 17–41.

“Implicit Bias.” StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf, 4 Mar. 2023, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK589697/#:~:text=Implicit%20bias%20includes%20the%20subconscious,%2C%20affect%20their%20decision%2Dmaking. 

Payne, B. Keith, "Behavioral Measurement of Implicit Social Cognition." Social Cognition, vol. 35, no. 1, 2017, pp. 1–31.

 Shah, Harini S., and Julie Bohlen. “Implicit Bias.” StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf, 4 Mar. 2023, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK589697 

House, White. “Racial Discrimination in Contemporary America.” The White House, 3 July 2024, www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2024/07/03/racial-discrimination-in-contemporary-america.