Authors: Ramon Zabriskie, Erica Miller, Felicia Korth, Anna Taylor
Mentors: Ramon Zabriskie
Insitution: Brigham Young University
Implicit bias occurs automatically and unintentionally based on a person’s lifetime experience and cultural history (National Institutes of Health, 2022; Handelsman & Sakraney, 2015). In this study, implicit bias is evaluated through the lens of a transformative diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging business course. DEIB originated in the 1960s in response to equal employment and affirmative action laws (Sarrett, 2022). Studies show that Millennials and Gen Z generations are the most diverse populations ever in the United States (Stamps & Foley, 2023). Benefits of DEIB include the creation of a more unified, diverse, and successful workplace, less biases in hiring, team development, promotions, and who companies do business with (El-Amin, 2022). This study’s theoretical framework is based on the transformative learning theory which seeks to understand and promote human development through learning. Transformation is more than "knowing more" through time; when a learner is transformed by education they undergo a shift in perspective, and after that shift, they cannot go back to see the world the way they once did, at least in some small way (Wichita State University). The class was designed with experiential learning approaches and introduces a variety of DEIB concepts such as privilege, unconscious bias, assumptions, and intersectionality. Students interacted with a variety of experiential components such as DEIB events, panels, and interviews which addressed various minority groups. At the beginning of the DEIB course, students completed an IAT test focused on racial bias. The IAT test is known as the Implicit Association Test that uses positive and negative connotative words in association with pictures of minority groups to measure automatic reactions targeting an individual's level of implicit bias towards one minority group versus another. After students completed the racial IAT test, scores were recorded representing the level of implicit racial bias students held towards white people vs. black people. At the conclusion of the 14-week-long course, students completed the same IAT test on racial bias. Scores were recorded once again, comparative with previous IAT scores, to evaluate whether the amount of racial implicit bias had changed as a result of participating in the DEIB course and its curriculum. Data was then analyzed visually comparing the means from the pre to post test results. The data was analyzed using this method because the sample size was not large enough to return what the researchers considered to be reliable results. More data is available for this study, but has not been cleaned and matched, this process is currently taking place. Once the data is available, the researchers will use paired sample T-tests to conduct a full analysis. Additionally, descriptive analysis will be represented in the form of histograms of pre and post test scores observing the progression towards less implicit bias. The mean for the pre-test was .78 (sdv=1.34, n=171) and the post-test was .63 (std=1.38, n=144). Our sample size was 181 participants with 25 that chose not to answer. Demographics of participants consisted of 66% Caucasian, 3% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 2% Native Hawaiian, 1% other, and 26% who chose not to respond. The average age of participants was 21. Gender of participants consisted of 121 females and 34 males. Visual examinations of the means suggest there was migration toward 0, which would represent little to no bias and the class was making a difference in participants’ implicit bias scores. This study underscores the utility of DEIB instruction in promoting changes in bias. The impact of changes in implicit bias through this learning coupled with DEIB principles in a transformative way will greatly influence the workforce for generations to come.