Samantha Brounstein

Hidden Bias is such an interesting concept because it is undeniable. It was really great to learn how young we are when we are introduced to them, though I wish I could say it was at all surprising but we are a culture of identifying “the other” and making sure to separate “us” from “them” at all costs. I liked that the article actually goes over the definitions of biased and stereotypes, they truly are such a present concept in everyones lives yet sometimes we get caught up in the connotation of every word instead of the denotations. 

But tests like the one that was offered by Project Implicit was incredibly over simplistic. 

I took three tests and of course it showed me to be biased in some way or another because bias isn’t something that you have or don’t have, it is something that everyone has just depending on “side”. The tests felt more pavlovian with them training my hands to associate words together only to switch it up attempting to try and get me to “show my true inner bias”.

-Where did they come up with the idea to test hidden bias using word association and hand eye coordination?

-How does my participation in the study validate the creation of the test in the end?

I found the tests fun, they were also informative, it was also good to see the questions at the conclusion of the test in which they ask if you disagree with your results and I didn’t rebuke them for the most part, and it was beneficial to see where my results stood against others but again, it was all over simplistic and more about training your hands and making sure that your brain was not confused at any point. I had fun and it was indeed informative but I would take the tests with a grain of salt in knowing what the results were even though it is a universal truth that we all have a bias.