Implicit Bias

Implicit bias are the subconscious decisions your brain makes upon interacting with others. Our impression of others is formed by the way they look, speak, smell, move, etc. We identify these traits and categorize or stereotype the person we are interacting with. This is a natural process that embeds our preconceived notions about people into our interactions. My big take-away from this session is that we can learn to 'unlearn" our negative preconceived notions. This relates to neuroplasticity which we are learning about in neurobiology. Neuroplasticity is our brains' ability to reorganize by forming new neuronal connections. We do this when we unlearn or reorganize our implicit biases (in a conscious effort).

It is very important for OT's to address their own implicit bias. We are in healthcare. We will see a variety of people with a plethora of problems. We can't allow ourselves to make a snap judgement about the client based on their appearance or the problems they have because it could influence the quality of care we give them. We are to show the same respect and empathy to all of our clients regardless of the performance or impression we got from people like them or people in situations like theirs before.

In order to examine our own biases we could consider some known stereotypes and think about how we handle ourselves when we see them. Taking the time to reflect on our attitude or feelings about clients who fit a stereotype is important in recognizing and addressing our biases. Like the podcast said, it isn't easy to unlearn or change our automatic response/impression/bias towards others but it is imperative to do so in order to be a successful practitioner.