Podcasts Government City Journal's 10 Blocks The "Science" Behind Implicit Bias

The "Science" Behind Implicit Bias

Published: Oct. 18, 2017, 12:43 p.m.

Heather Mac Donald\xa0joins\xa0City Journal\xa0associate editor\xa0Seth Barron\xa0to discuss the dubious scientific and statistical bases of the trendy academic theory known as \u201cimplicit bias.\u201d The implicit association test (IAT), first introduced in 1998, uses a computerized response-time test to measure an individual\u2019s bias, particularly regarding race.\xa0

Despite scientific challenges to the test\u2019s validity, the implicit-bias idea has taken firm root in popular culture and in the media. Police forces and corporate HR departments are spending millions every year reeducating employees on how to recognize their presumptive hidden prejudices.

Heather discusses the problems with implicit bias, the impact that the concept is having on academia and in the corporate world, and the real reasons for racial disparities in educational achievement and income levels.

Heather Mac Donald\xa0is the Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of\xa0City Journal, and author of the\xa0New York Timesbestseller\xa0The War on Cops.\xa0Her article in the Autumn 2017 issue of\xa0City Journal\xa0is entitled, \u201cAre We All Unconscious Racists?\u201d