Implicit bias is a concept from the field of social cognitive psychology that has become widely discussed in popular culture. Understanding what it is, where it comes from, and how it influences our social judgments is a critical part of explaining many aspects of the social issues surrounding prejudice and discrimination related to gender, race, ethnicity, and other social categorizations. This session will help attendees understand what implicit cognition is, see the helpful side of this brain function, and explore how it leads to unfair biases within our society with particular focus on applications in healthcare contexts.

Learner Objectives:

1. Recognize that people generally think racism and sexism are things of the past and discuss social cognitive explanations (optimism bias & confirmation bias) for this illusion of progress.
2. Differentiate implicit and explicit cognition and demonstrate several ways our implicit cognitive system acts outside of conscious control to help us think quickly and efficiently.
3. Understand research that suggests negative racial and gender category associations remain in our awareness, result in implicit bias, and affect judgments and behavior toward others outside of conscious awareness or control.
4. Explain, with examples, how implicit bias might affect social interactions with peers, subordinates, clients, and others in healthcare institutions then explore ways to reduce the impact of implicit bias.