Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People

Thursday, January 21, 3:00 - 5:00 pm | Register for Blindspot

Last month, the Faculty Development and Diversity Office hosted Mahzarin Banaji, Cabot Professor of Social Ethics in the Department of Psychology, Senior Advisor to the Provost, and one of the country’s leading experimental social psychologists on the enduring evidence of “implicit bias,” who offered Harvard faculty a unique opportunity to participate in the first of its kind University-wide faculty seminar titled “Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People.” The seminar discussed how we can make wise decisions untainted by beliefs and assumptions we hold without even knowing that we do, and the science of “implicit bias” which demonstrates how barely conscious thoughts and feelings can affect our decisions about others, based on their age, gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic class, nationality, or other demographic characteristics that are completely irrelevant—and that our own values tell us ought to be irrelevant—to decision-making.

Mahzarin will be offering a general session open to the wider Harvard community of faculty, staff, students, postdoctoral fellows, trainees, and others. The seminar will be a 90-minute presentation followed by 30 minutes of Q&A. Closed captioning will be provided.