Summary
Highlights
While we strive to correct explicit biases when aware of them, self-correction doesn't occur with implicit biases because we don't know we have them. Despite operating invisibly, implicit biases increasingly show influence on actions and decisions in significant ways.
Schemas are applied to people, leading to automatic assignment to social categories like age, gender, race, or profession upon sight. This triggers a cloud of associated information, potentially influencing interactions.
Attitudes are general positive or negative evaluations (gut feelings), while stereotypes are more specific associations between a category and a particular trait. Examples include negative attitudes towards rats versus positive attitudes towards hamsters, or associating snakes with venomous.
Stereotypes also apply to people, such as certain groups being considered 'athletic' or 'good at math'. The speaker uses himself as an example, illustrating how being Asian might trigger specific attitudes (positive) or stereotypes (good at math, not athletic) in others, influencing their behavior.
Attitudes and stereotypes are called biases because they diverge from neutrality. Explicit biases are those we are aware of and can articulate, while implicit biases are unconscious and inaccessible through introspection.
Biases originate from exposure in particular contexts, which can be direct or vicarious (through stories, media, pop culture). The video prompts viewers to consider the source and accuracy of their attitudes and stereotypes about groups like Native Americans.