Have you ever heard of implicit bias before? If not, implicit biases are biases that we have that are outside of our awareness and that impact our behaviors, including the ways in which we interact with others.

The midterm elections have come and gone, and hey have verified that there is a great split in our country. We are a divided nation, and with this has come increased hatred, stereotyping, and bigotry. There have been multiple reports on increased hate crimes and anti-Semitism, and there is a decrease in diplomatic communication between people of differing opinions.

As a psychologist it has been imperative that I understand the differences between sex, gender, and sexual orientation, and it is always important to not make any assumptions about these three when meeting a new client.

Most of us like to think of ourselves as fair and unbiased people. We are unlikely to see when we are treating groups differently based on some external factor. This brings us to implicit bias. Implicit bias is our stereotypes and thoughts about various groups that are outside our awareness (unconscious), and they affect our understanding of and behaviors towards others.