Biased : uncovering the hidden prejudice that shapes what we see, think, and do / Jennifer L. Eberhardt, PhD.

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  • Additional Information
    • Abstract:
      Summary: "You don't have to be racist to be biased. Unconscious bias can be at work without our realizing it, and even when we genuinely wish to treat all people equally, ingrained stereotypes can infect our visual perception, attention, memory, and behavior. This has an impact on education, employment, housing, and criminal justice. Now one of the world's leading experts on implicit racial bias offers us insights into the dilemma and a path forward. In [this book], with a perspective that is at once scientific, investigative, and informed by personal experience, Jennifer Eberhardt tackles one of the central controversies and culturally powerful issues of our time. Eberhardt works extensively as a consultant to law enforcement and as a psychologist at the forefront of this new field. Her research takes place in courtrooms and boardrooms, in prisons, on the street, and in classrooms and coffee shops. She shows us the subtle--and sometimes dramatic--daily repercussions of implicit bias in how teachers grade students, or managers deal with customers. It has an enormous impact on the conduct of criminal justice, from the rapid decisions police officers have to make to sentencing practices in court. Eberhardt's work and her book are both influenced by her own life, and the personal stories she shares emphasize the need for change. She has helped companies that include Airbnb and Nextdoor address bias in their business practices and has led anti-bias initiatives for police departments across the country. Here, she offers practical suggestions for reform and new practices that are useful for organizations as well as individuals. Unblinking about the tragic consequences of prejudice, Eberhardt addresses how racial bias is not the fault of nor restricted to a few "bad apples," but is present at all levels of society in media, education, and business. The good news is that we are not hopelessly doomed by our innate prejudices. In Biased, Eberhardt reminds us that racial bias is a human problem--one all people can play a role in solving."--Dust jacket.
    • Content Notes:
      Part I: What meets the eye. Seeing each other ; Nurturing bias -- Part II: Where we find ourselves. A bad dude ; Male black ; How free people think ; The scary monster -- Part III: The way out. The comfort of home ; Hard lessons ; Higher learning ; The bottom line.
    • Notes:
      Includes bibliographical references (pages 305-325) and index.
    • ISBN:
      9780735224933
      0735224935
      9780735224940
      0735224943
    • Accession Number:
      2018051011
    • Accession Number:
      on1039326872
      1039326872
    • Accession Number:
      fay.644770

Reviews

Booklist Reviews 2019 February #2

*Starred Review* Stanford psychology professor and Mac­Arthur fellow Eberhardt tackles the difficult subject of racial bias and how it affects our everyday interactions in this enlightening and essential exploration. Drawing from her own experiences and those of her family as well as her work consulting with the Oakland police department, Eberhardt elucidates the ways long-held associations between Black men and criminality have led to prejudices both subtle and overt when it comes to eyewitness descriptions, pursuing suspects, and the split-second assessment of an action as threatening or not. She points out glaring discrepancies in the ways white candidates are favored over people of color with the same qualifications for everything from job applications to Airbnb rentals. And she limns her own experiences, from her young sons' eye-opening comments that reveal their internalized reactions to societal biases to her harrowing arrest the day before she received her PhD after being pulled over by an overzealous cop. Though there's no easy answer, Eberhardt posits the key to change is confronting bias head-on rather than trying to pretend it doesn't exist, and to question and challenge our own snap judgments and their sources. This is a seminal work on a topic that necessitates wide and frank discussion. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.

LJ Reviews 2018 October #1

An expert in the issue of unconscious racial bias, Stanford psychology professor and MacArthur Fellow Eberhardt argues that even those who don't believe they are biased and who strive to treat others equally can still harbor bred-in-the-bone stereotypes. To make her case, she draws on both research—in the lab as well as police departments, courtrooms, prisons, and boardrooms and on the street—and personal experience, showing that bias isn't restricted to a few screechy outliers but can affect us all. And it can be fixed by all of us together.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal.

LJ Reviews 2019 March #1

Eberhardt (psychology, Stanford Univ.) helps readers understand how human brains have evolved to fear "the other" and how to combat innate bias once we recognize it. The author uses current research and personal experiences to explain that humans do have trouble distinguishing faces of races other than their own. This categorizing feature of our brains evolved to help us more quickly make sense of the overload of sensory information in our world, however it can lead to bias. Recounting her own traffic stop and consequent arrest on the day before her graduation with her PhD from Harvard, Eberhardt illustrates how prejudice can spin out of control. While this work primarily examines racial bias, Eberhardt touches on gender bias as well and notes how it's transmitted even to very young children. Eberhardt fights bias in the criminal justice system by working with the Oakland police department and teaching at San Quentin prison. She advises that readers combat implicit bias in their lives by slowing down, resisting subjective standards, holding themselves accountable, and raising the standards of their own behavior. VERDICT An important book for all readers in these divisive times. [See Prepub Alert, 9/10/18.]—Caren Nichter, Univ. of Tennessee at Martin

Copyright 2019 Library Journal.