Region: North America

Issues: Tolerance

Focus: Understanding the Neural Basis of Implicit Bias and the mechanisms through which it is regulated

Details: In the face of mounting social pressure, explicit, overt examples of race bias in this country have declined steadily since beginning of the civil rights movement. At the same time, behavioral evidence of implicit race bias, shaped by our media, culture and personal experience, remains prevalent. Dr. Damian Stanley's work focuses on understanding the neural basis of implicit bias (pertaining to race and other categories) as well as the mechanisms through which it is regulated. He believes that through developing an understanding of how and why implicit bias operates at the neural level we can better account for it at a societal level and develop methods for counteracting its undesirable effects.

More specifically, Dr. Stanley is interested in developing and testing a model of the neural systems that underlie our automatic responses to members of different social groups (see "The Neural Basis of Implicit Attitudes" in Current Directions in Psychology, April 2008). He is currently pursuing this aim with three different projects. The first uses counter-stereotypical examples (e.g. positive examples of black males) to reduce anti-black implicit bias in participants in an attempt to determine how this reduction is implemented at the neural level. The second aims to use behavioral techniques to limit participants' ability to regulate the expression of their anti-black implicit bias, again to elucidate the role that different neural systems play in the regulation and expression of implicit bias. Finally, he is characterizing the role that implicit bias plays in estimations of another individual's trustworthiness and in decisions involving social trust.

In addition to his research, as part of his position at SoT, Dr. Stanley has been working on providing information concerning what we know about implicit bias to those not in the fields of social psychology or neuroscience. This work has mainly consisted of a series of presentations to a number of groups around the city including educators, human rights workers, high school students and any other interested groups. These presentations typically last between one and two hours and provide a broad introduction to the field of implicit attitudes and the neural systems underlying them. If you or a group you know of would be interested in learning more, please don't hesitate to contact Dr. Stanley.

External Links: Dr. Damien Stanley's NYU Phelps Lab Profile

Downloads: The Neural Basis - (Adobe .pdf)