I Street Law: Implicit Bias Lesson Plan Created by: Megan Crenshaw May 14, 2014

Opinion Poll 1. An attractive person will always be hired before a less attractive, but equally qualified person.

Reality -Studies show that attractive people are likely to earn 3 to 4 % more than people with below-average looks. -That adds up to almost $230,000 over a lifetime. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203687504576655331418204842 http://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2012/12/23/can-you-be-too-sexy-for-your-job-the-iowa-supreme-court-says-yes/ Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People are More Successful, by Daniel Hamermesh

2. Referees only base their calls on the rules of the game. Opinion Poll 2. Referees only base their calls on the rules of the game.

Reality -Studies show that more personal fouls are called against players when their game is officiated by an opposite-race refereeing crew than when officiated by a same-race refereeing crew. http://www.nber.org/papers/w13206 http://www.americanvaluesinstitute.org/?page_id=14

Opinion Poll 3. Obese people are less likely to be hired than average-weight people.

Reality -Studies show that obese people are more often disqualified from being hired and less often nominated for supervisory positions. -These findings are most pronounced in obese females. http://www.ere.net/2013/06/19/are-you-losing-hires-because-of-fat-bias/

Please return to your seats!

Implicit Bias “The attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner.” Cause us to have feelings and attitudes about other people based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, and appearance.  Develop over the course of a lifetime through exposure to direct and indirect messages. 

Key Characteristics Pervasive.  Everyone possesses them, even people with commitments to impartiality such as judges. Different from Explicit bias. Could be related though. Don’t necessarily align with declared beliefs or even reflect stances we would explicitly endorse. Generally tend to favor our own ingroup, though research has shown that we can still hold implicit biases against our ingroup. Malleable.  Implicit associations that we have formed can be gradually unlearned through a variety of debiasing techniques.

Implicit Bias and Perceptions of Crime…

Imagine…I You are walking in a public park near Ballard and see someone with a pair of bolt cutters trying to cut off a bike chain. What would your initial reaction be? What would you think they were doing?

Thief or Owner? Take out your note card. (You won’t be turning it in) Number from 1- 10 and write down either a T or an O for your INITIAL reaction.

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Discussion Time!

“What Would You Do? The Bike Thief” Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0kV_b3IK9M -Video link

What could be causing these differences? http://www.sentencingproject.org/template/page.cfm?id=122 What could be causing these differences?

The Impact of Implicit Bias on Convictions and Sentences…

Opinion Poll 5. If a black person and a white person are accused of the same crime, they have an equal chance of getting convicted.

Reality Studies show that: 1.With at least one black member in the jury pool: Conviction rates were almost identical for blacks and whites. 2. Without any black members in the jury pool: Black defendants were significantly more likely than whites to be convicted. Why? Juries with at least one black member tended to deliberate longer, discuss more case facts, raise more questions about what was missing from the trials, and be more likely to discuss race issues, such as profiling, during deliberations.” - See more at: http://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/criminal-justice/impact-jury-race-criminal-trials#sthash.qcKb5Rce.dpuf

Opinion Poll 6. If a girl and boy are convicted of the same crime, they should get the same jail sentence.

Reality Studies show: 1. Men receive 63% longer sentences on average than women do AND 2. Women are twice as likely to avoid incarceration if convicted.” http://www.law.umich.edu/newsandinfo/features/Pages/starr_gender_disparities.aspx

Opinion Poll 7. If a 60-year-old and a 22-year-old are convicted of the same crime, the 60- year-old should receive a shorter sentence.

Reality -Studies show Individuals ages 21-25 receive the harshest sentences, followed by ages 26-29. Young offenders ages 18-20 receive sentences similar to those in their 30s and 40s. (Moderate sentences) Offenders ages 50 and above receive the most lenient sentences. https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=161069

Combatting Implicit Bias Journal write…