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Screen tittle

New Student Orientation: Day 4 -- What Can You Do?

Content description

This is the course title page, featuring the UVa logo, the course title, a "What's Next?" button to launch

the course, and the Project Implicit logo. She also asks learners if they think they can reduce or eliminate

bias.

Audio Okay. You’ve seen a lot. So riddle me this:

Can I reduce my implicit biases?

Can I eliminate them entirely?

Let’s find out. Click on What’s Next, and let’s see.

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Screen tittle A Culture of Bias

Content description

Maya explains that many stereotypes and prejudices are ingrained in our culture and reinforced by it, too.

Two pie charts demonstrate that women make up 19.1% of the 115th United States House of

Representatives and 21% of the US Senate. Another graph illustrates that women comprise 5.8% of

CEOs in S&P 500 companies, 9.5% of top earners, 19.9% of board seats, 25.1% of executive/senior-level

officials and managers, 36.4% of first/mid-level officials and managers, and 44.3% of total employees.

Audio Unfortunately, there isn’t a magic pill to eliminate or reverse biases.

You can’t always recognize how much implicit attitudes and stereotypes influence what you say and

what you do. Worse, implicit bias often contradicts the values and beliefs we hold dear.

Many stereotypes and prejudices are ingrained in our culture and reinforced by it, too. Like the implicit

stereotype that men are better leaders than women. One-fifth of Congress are women, despite the fact

that women make up half the population. What percent of the top 500 companies do you think have

female CEOs?

Less than 6% of CEOs of the top 500 companies are women. Coincidence? I think not.

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Screen tittle When Is Bias Most Influential?

Content description

Maya tells learners that there are times when you are more vulnerable to bias than others:

Audio Even though you can’t eliminate bias in your life, you can take steps to keep bias from impacting

behavior. And the first step to doing that is to know when you are most vulnerable to bias. For example:

Your decisions are more likely to be influenced by bias when you have to make a decision quickly.

Or when you’re stressed or overtired, like after an all-nighter or midterms.

You can also be more easily influenced when you have to make a decision and you don’t have much

information available. Like going on a blind date.

You’re also susceptible to having your bias influence your behavior when you’re overconfident about

your own objectivity.

Or when your peers or professors endorse a certain bias.

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Screen tittle

The Reach of Implicit Bias

Content description

Maya recalls Module 1, when the learner picked an organization to give extra funding to of four possible

organizations. She thinks about her own choice and reflects on possible bias in her decision.

Audio

I have a confession. Remember when we talked about picking a student organization to give extra money

to?

I picked the Wahoo Women in Tech organization. And now that I think about it, I bet I picked that one

because I'm a woman interested in science and technology.

Without realizing it at the time, I was biased in favor of myself and other people like me. I didn't even

consider the merits of the other organizations.

While it’s common to favor others who are like us, it might indicate I need to manage my biases better.

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Screen tittle Considering Your Decisions

Content description

This is a confidential self-assessment question with an open-response text box to enter your own ideas

for reducing bias. After entering some ideas in the text box, the Submit button activates.

Audio Maybe this is something we can work on together. Let’s both take a minute and come up with some

ideas.

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Screen tittle

Strategies for Managing Bias

Content description

Maya offers four strategies that can help keep implicit biases in check: (1) Accept that you have biases

and commit to managing them, (2) Connect with people who are different from you, find common goals,

interact with people who have equal status, keep it friendly and informal, and seek connections with

multiple group members, (3) slow down and think critically, and (4) speak up against bias when you hear

it.

Audio If you believe that everyone should be treated equally, here are some strategies you can use to help

keep your implicit biases in check.

Most of us recognize that other people are biased, but we tend to have a blind spot about our own

biases.

Denying your bias can strengthen its influence on decisions and behavior. Be humble—accept your

biases and commit to managing them. This is the first step to reducing the effects of bias.

Research suggests that connecting with people who are different from us can reduce bias. This can be

intimidating at first, but practice makes perfect. Here are a few tips that work with lots of different

groups:

Start with relating based on common goals.

It’s best if you have equal status—such as a fellow students or coworkers.

Keep it friendly and informal.

Connect with more than one person from a group—it prevents them from being “the exception.”

Take a breath before you think or act. College can be demanding, and you already know that implicit

biases have a greater impact when you’re tired, stressed, or in a hurry.

It takes extra mental resources to overcome the habit of implicit bias, which is why it’s a good idea to

take it slow.

Being a member of the UVa community is a privilege, and you can use that privilege to speak up against

bias. Research supports the idea that when someone is confronted for being biased, they tend to be less

biased in the future. If someone uses biased language, calmly let them know it upsets you. Gently

remind them that we all have a responsibility to treat each other fairly.

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Screen tittle

Make a Commitment to Reducing Your Bias

Content description

Maya tells learners that making commitments can help keep our behavior in line with our goals.

Instructions tell the learner to list three concrete things they can do to combat bias. Three text boxes

appear on the screen, and when the learner types in all three of them, a print button activates so the

learner can print their strategies if they would like. After typing in all the text boxes, the submit button

activates.

Audio

Research supports the idea that making commitments can help keep our behavior in line with our goals.

Are you ready to make a commitment to reducing bias?

If so, list three concrete things you will do to combat bias. You can also print them out and take them

with you or save them to your desktop.

Think of it as the commitment you’re making to yourself and to the UVA community we all want to

build.

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Screen tittle

Course Conclusion

Content description

Maya summarizes the strategies presented and thanks the learner.

Audio Even though we can’t magically erase the implicit biases we’ve accumulated over the course of our lives.

There’s a lot we can do.

We can be humble about our bias and, in addition to your own concrete strategies:

Accept our biases and commit to managing them,

Connect to people who are different from us,

Take a breath and slow down our decisions, and

Speak up to bias when we encounter it. In ourselves and in each other.

Just remember to be realistic. It may take time to understand your biases and put the strategies to

reduce their influence into practice.

Thanks for joining me as we all work toward creating a community of trust and inclusiveness at UVA.