Eliciting cognitive consistency increases acceptance of implicit bias.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Resistance to implicit bias knowledge hinders effective bias reduction.
• Implicit Association Tests (IATs) are tools to measure unconscious biases.
• Cognitive consistency plays a role in knowledge acceptance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how enhancing cognitive consistency affects awareness and acceptance of implicit bias.
• To explore methods for reducing resistance to implicit bias education.
• To examine the impact of test evaluation timing on bias acceptance.

Main Methods:

• Three experiments with over 3,500 participants across five samples.
• Utilized race (Black-White) and morally innocuous (Insect-Flower) Implicit Association Tests (IATs).
• Manipulated cognitive consistency by altering the timing of test result feedback and performance evaluation.

Main Results:

• Evaluating test validity before receiving results increased bias acceptance.
• Evaluating a neutral IAT before a racial IAT heightened cognitive consistency and reduced resistance to bias evidence.
• Increased cognitive consistency was linked to greater bias awareness, acceptance, and support for bias mitigation strategies.

Conclusions:

• Strategies that enhance cognitive consistency can effectively increase awareness and acceptance of implicit bias.
• Reducing resistance to implicit bias knowledge is critical for effective bias education and intervention.
• Findings support the development of educational approaches that foster cognitive consistency to address unconscious biases.