The Pros And Cons Of Implicit Bias

Issues involving race found in today’s society often stem from historical conflicts. Christopher Edley, Jr. supports this idea in The War on Our Freedoms: Civil Liberties in an Age of Terrorism, “… We can also see in recent developments how … racial and ethnic differences are socially constructed out of, or in midst of, conflict” (Edley, Jr. 171). An ethnic group that is often falls victim to racial profiling in the United States are African Americans. Initially, the transatlantic slave trade sparked this modern practice. The transatlantic slave trade, also known as the triangular trade, included three stages, beginning in Western Europe. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the trade began when ships departed

Some common ethnic stereotypes are derived out of implicit social cognition, also known as implicit bias. The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity defines implicit bias in their report titled, “Understanding Implicit Bias”. “… Implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that effect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner” (“Understanding Implicit Bias”). Stereotypes from implicit bias contrast with others because they are created in one’s subconscious, not necessarily from a palpable event or reason. Implicit biases can become rooted in a person’s subconscious in several different manners. “In addition to early life experiences, the media and news programming are often-cited origins of implicit associations,” says the Kirwan Institute (“Understanding Implicit Bias”). The manner in which the American media portrays specific groups of people influence the implicit biases of the American people. These biases causes people to have feelings or attitudes about other races, ethnicities, age groups, and appearances (“Understanding Implicit