A Lesson In Implicit Bias

Implicit bias to me is the way our brains have been programmed to think about things or a certain group of people. It's a perception of how we may view others from what we have been around in our environment or even taught by someone else (family or friends). Sometimes these bias's are not good and may be very negative. As we grow up, we need to think for ourselves and formulate our own opinions on certain topics.

I think it's important that OT students and practitioners learn what implicit bias is because we work with all types of people daily. Occupational Therapy has a very wide variety of workplace settings including hospitals, schools, nursing homes, etc. Within these settings we will work with children, geriatrics, teenagers, people with intellectual disabilities, and the list goes on. It is so important that we treat everyone equally and provide the proper care and services to each person. We can all learn about our own unconscious bias's and understand that it doesn't make us horrible people for thinking that way. We are all human, yet we can still overcome these bias's if we at least try.

One thing you can try to address your own implicit bias would be to take a survey like the one we took at the beginning of this foundations lesson. You could also go to a seminar or listen to different podcasts that address this topic. Lastly, you could try to find articles or books that go into detail on this topic to further your knowledge about implicit bias in general. My take away from this session is that everyone has their own implicit bias's, and it's up to us to learn more about our own ways of thinking and how we can positively change that if need be. We all have room to grow, and if we can figure out how to change our own bias's for the better of others then we should at least try. What could it hurt?