Types of Bias
This type of bias operates automatically and unconsciously, often contradicting our stated beliefs.
What is Implicit Bias?
A system of oppression based on race that is embedded in institutions and policies.
What is racism?
Unearned advantages granted to members of dominant groups.
What is privilege?
This occurs when someone with less structural power supports dominant systems in exchange for protection or limited benefits.
What is trading power for patronage?
Everyday slights or insults that communicate hostile or negative messages toward marginalized groups.
What are microaggressions?
This bias involves consciously held negative beliefs about a group.
What is explicit bias?
A system that privileges heterosexual identities while marginalizing others.
What is heterosexism?
The ability to influence decisions, access resources, and shape narratives within a system.
What is power?
This concept helps explain why some marginalized individuals may enforce oppressive policies within institutions.
What is internalized oppression?
This type of microaggression invalidates the lived experiences of marginalized people.
What is microinvalidation?
This bias occurs when we seek out information that confirms what we already believe.
What is confirmation bias?
This framework explains how multiple social identities intersect to shape experiences of oppression.
What is intersectionality?
This type of power comes from one’s role or position within an institution.
What is positional power?
This social dynamic describes how institutions reward loyalty to dominant norms with access or advancement.
What is patronage?
This response centers dominant group discomfort rather than addressing harm caused.
What is fragility?
This cognitive shortcut leads people to judge others based on group membership rather than individual characteristics.
What is stereotyping?
A form of oppression that is normalized and embedded within social institutions rather than dependent on individual intent.
What is structural oppression?
This form of power operates subtly by shaping what people believe is normal or acceptable.
What is cultural power?
This theory explains how elites maintain control by granting selective benefits to certain subgroups.
What is co-optation?
This occurs when members of dominant groups deny the existence of systemic inequity.
What is colorblind ideology?
This bias occurs when individuals believe their own cultural norms are superior and use them as the standard to judge others.
What is ethnocentrism or cultural bias?
This concept describes how dominant groups maintain power through cultural norms, media, and ideology rather than force alone.
What is hegemony?
This concept refers to individuals from marginalized groups distancing themselves from their own group to align with dominant norms for safety or access.
What is defensive othering?
In social work practice, this dynamic might appear when a practitioner aligns with agency bureaucracy over client advocacy to protect job security.
What is trading power for patronage in professional practice?
This concept describes the belief that success is solely based on individual effort, ignoring structural advantages.
What is meritocracy myth?