Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism
- Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology
- The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Taking Stock of Explicit and Implicit Prejudice
- 1 Report from the NSF Conference on Implicit Bias
- Section I What is Implicit Bias and (How) Can We Measure It?
- Section II Do Measures of Implicit Bias Predict Cognition and Behavior?
- Section III Challenges of Research on Implicit Bias
- Section IV Improving Measurement and Theorizing About Implicit Bias
- Section V How to Change Implicit Bias?
- Section VI Explicit Prejudice; Alive and Well?
- Section VII The Public’s (Mis)understanding of Implicit Bias
- Introduction
- 28 Public Attitudes on Implicit Bias
- 29 The Mass Public’s View of Implicit Bias, with Implications for Scientific Communication in a Politically Polarized Age
- Index
- References
29 - The Mass Public’s View of Implicit Bias, with Implications for Scientific Communication in a Politically Polarized Age
from Section VII - The Public’s (Mis)understanding of Implicit Bias
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 December 2024
- The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism
- Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology
- The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Taking Stock of Explicit and Implicit Prejudice
- 1 Report from the NSF Conference on Implicit Bias
- Section I What is Implicit Bias and (How) Can We Measure It?
- Section II Do Measures of Implicit Bias Predict Cognition and Behavior?
- Section III Challenges of Research on Implicit Bias
- Section IV Improving Measurement and Theorizing About Implicit Bias
- Section V How to Change Implicit Bias?
- Section VI Explicit Prejudice; Alive and Well?
- Section VII The Public’s (Mis)understanding of Implicit Bias
- Introduction
- 28 Public Attitudes on Implicit Bias
- 29 The Mass Public’s View of Implicit Bias, with Implications for Scientific Communication in a Politically Polarized Age
- Index
- References
Summary
In this chapter, we examine the public’s understanding of implicit bias, a topic that has only recently caught the public’s attention. Given that political elites often set the contours of debate on political issues, we begin by conducting a systematic content analysis of newspaper headlines and cable news transcripts to assess the prevalence and nature of media coverage of implicit bias. We find that partisan media utilize starkly different frames regarding the scientific validity of the concept of implicit bias, the political intentions of those who use the phrase, and the requisite political recourses (if any). We then utilize two individual-level datasets to examine the mass public’s understanding of implicit bias. An original survey reveals a stark gulf in partisan understandings of implicit bias and an analysis of Project Implicit data highlights the interplay between personalized feedback from the IAT and ideology in shaping evaluations of the IAT. We conclude with a discussion of the challenges of science communication, particularly on issues relating to race, in a politically polarized age.
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- The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism , pp. 745 - 765Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025