Interesting article in Newsweek that talks about the Implicit Assumption Test, which I think can be a powerful tool in awareness and diversity work.

MIND MATTERS | Wray Herbert

The Secret Haters

Some experts argue that even the most politically correct among us may harbor unconscious prejudices against ethnic groups, women, gays and others. Can these dark impulses shape our actions?

Feb 11, 2008 | Updated: 5:41  p.m. ET Feb 11, 2008

 

I grew up on the Jersey shore in the 1950s, an era of fairly blatant racism. Neighborhoods were either white or black, not yet mixed, and very few of my black friends were "tracked" into my academically advanced high school classes. I rarely encountered black families in the local diners, department stores or movie theaters.

That kind of racial bias is largely gone from the world my kids are growing up in. So that’s a good thing. But many social critics believe strongly that racism never really went away, that bias against blacks has simply been driven underground in our era of political correctness. In this view, even the most progressive of thinkers may harbor dark, discriminatory impulses that can surface when least expected or desired.

And it’s not just race. A large and growing number of psychologists now argue that a welter of prejudices are simmering just below the surface of society: prejudices against many ethnic groups, against women, gays, the elderly, and outsiders like the homeless and drug addicts. The big question is whether these unconscious animosities are potent enough to actually shape our actions, to make us do things we ourselves find shameful. A new study suggests that, unhappily, the answer is yes.