Define the concepts of implicit bias, social status bias, and salience effect. Provide an example of how each may manifest in a workplace.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Implicit bias is defined as the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious matter. These tendencies are activated involuntarily and without awareness. Research into this type of bias suggests this it is pervasive in many areas of daily life, such as employment, education, and criminal justice, among others. Inaccurate perceptions can lead to unfair treatment of diverse members of an organization simply because they are different from the managers who are perceiving them, evaluating them, and making decisions that affect their future in the organization.

One form of bias is the social status effect in which people with higher social status are perceived in more positive ways than people of lower social status. For example, an employee who is a manager or someone who is highly educated may be perceived as smarter.

Women and minorities have traditionally had lower social status that could impact hiring or promotion practices. An organization may create policies requiring that a certain percentage of candidates being considered for a position or promotion must represent diverse groups.

Another form of bias is the salience effect in which managers focus their attention on people who are conspicuously different from themselves. The sole Hispanic employee in a work group may receive special attention in either a negative or positive direction.