Unconscious Bias, also called Implicit Bias, as a novel concept was first introduced in a paper of 2006, as “the new science of unconscious mental processes that has a substantial bearing on discrimination law”, and refuted the longstanding belief that humans are guided solely by explicit beliefs and by their conscious intentions. We receive 11 million bits of information every second. We can only consciously process 40 bits, and so more than 99.99% information is processed at the unconscious level.
Unconscious Bias can play a huge role in hiring and recruitment. Even if our mind frames a bias positively, it can still lead to unfair favoring. For example, if you prefer a candidate who went to a certain University because you associate it with intelligence, it is still a harmful unconscious bias, because that creates a halo effect. A halo effect is one where one positive trait can affect our overall perception of a person. A background of higher education does not automatically mean they are more intelligent than other candidates.
First impressions and gut feelings count for so much during interviews. But preventing unconscious bias is vital, as it can lead to unfair, inaccurate judgments, overlooked talent, or at worst discrimination. You might have subconscious or stereotypical views of what a successful person looks like, which can affect how you compare and contrast different candidates rather than assessing each on their own individual merit. Enthusiasm can be seen as an indicator of qualification and suitability of the job. The person most able to be outgoing and promote themselves might not necessarily be best for the job.
[For more on this story by Dr. Pragya Agarwal, go to https://www.forbes.com/sites/p...itment/#4d2c46185fd9]
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