SPARQ Insights
How Racial Bias Works – And How to Disrupt It
In Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do, SPARQ Co-Director Jennifer Eberhardt reflects on what it will take to truly confront racial bias and combat disparities across society. Science shows that racial bias is both deeply ingrained in our minds and woven intricately throughout society. While recognizing the power of bias is necessary to confront it, its effects need not be inevitable. Social science can help provide critical insights, tools, and strategies to disrupt and even eliminate racial bias.
Watch her TED talk to learn more about how racial bias operates at all levels of society — from schools and social media to policing and criminal justice — and how to disrupt it.
Where Do We Go From Here? Insights from Social Science
What will it take to end long standing racial disparities and bridge social divides in American society? How can we combat racial bias and all the ways it permeates our institutions, policies, and practices, especially in the criminal justice system? Will the recent deaths of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, along with the national outpouring of grief, frustration, and anger their deaths sparked, finally move Americans to confront racial bias and reckon with the troubled history of race in this country?
In this resource, our team at SPARQoffers a curated set of stories, science, and solutions to help people make sense of the current moment and begin to envision a path forward. We organize these resources around a common set of current and enduring questions and concerns. We start with what we have to offer as social psychologists in this moment, and review key insights from social science about racism, bias, and systems that are vital to the conversation. We then move into more specific questions around policing, police-community relations, and working for change.