Bias is as infectious as the flu

I was laid up last week with the flu, which I got because I associate with people.

Things spread that way, and not just germs. Bugs make themselves obvious, but science has made huge advances finding other stuff in our heads we didn't know was there; gunk we can't just blow out.

I'm talking about unconscious bias.

People act on it even though most don't recognize its presence.

The Times recently ran a story about a government survey that found light-skinned immigrants are paid 8 percent to 15 percent more than immigrants with darker skin.

This is true even when the immigrants are from the same country, the same race and have the same education level.

Light skin confers an advantage that goes beyond race. So does height.

Some people suffer from a cluster of characteristics that harbor the seeds of discrimination. Some benefit from a lucky grouping; a tall, light male for instance. Say George Clooney, or Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

Obama, like most of us, carries a mix of attributes.

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, like most of us, hauls around an assortment of biases.

Biden complimented Obama by calling him "the first mainstream African-American [presidential candidate] who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."

And yes, senator, we do know what you meant: Obama doesn't look or sound too black.

Two other men who were celebrated this week for being the first black head coaches in the Super Bowl know what he meant.

They both make a point of tightly controlling everything from the way they dress to the way they speak, so as to trigger as few subconscious negative connections as possible.

Another study. Researchers created a résumé for a high-school graduate looking for a low-skilled job. College students posed as applicants and carried the résumé. Some were white, some black, some Hispanic.

To some of the résumés, the researchers added one fact: The young man spent 18 months in prison for possession of cocaine with intent to sell.

White applicants with the criminal résumé got nibbles from employers more often than black candidates with clean records.

So, what to do?

Controlling biases is a lifelong challenge. I doubt most people are up for that.

I asked UW psychology professor Anthony Greenwald for a simpler action that people who hire could take.

Implicit bias, he said, happens without thinking. "It's pervasive in the atmosphere and affects most people. But most people are unaware they share the biases that they know exist elsewhere in the culture."

Awareness is the first step. "I can have these biases, as good a person as I am," Greenwald said. He suggested taking the Implicit Association Test he helped develop (https://implicit.harvard.edu). Unconscious biases show up in the test.

Hidden-bias research is just working its way into the public consciousness.

It isn't a cure, but at least we'll know if we're infected.

Jerry Large's column appears Monday and Thursday.

Reach him at 206-464-3346 or jlarge@seattletimes.com.