The deaths of many unarmed African Americans by police has ignited a nationwide debate on racial disparities in the United States. Many people think we have a race issue, but what if the problem was beneath our conscious awareness. This issue is a psychological issue that everybody possess called implicit bias. “Implicit Biases are automatic attitudes or stereotypes that can influence our beliefs, actions and decisions in an unconscious manner” (Weir 1). Due to their implicit biases, Police Officers are more likely to target and kill black people. Everybody unconsciously holds implicit biases, even police officers. Implicit Bias is a natural instinct that influences our judgments and decisions. Implicit Biases are caused by our brain's
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The University of California found “evidence of a significant bias in the killings of unarmed Black Americans relative to unarmed White Americans” (Weir 1). They discovered the likelihood of being a African American, unarmed and shot by an officer is approximately 3.5 times the likelihood of being a White American, unarmed and shot by an officer (Weir 1). Although, many people think these disparities are due to racism among the police force, this is actually due to their implicit biases. For example, many people unconsciously associate black people with negative characteristics like hostile, dangerous or threatening and may also associate them with gang violence and crime, even if they don't hold any explicitly racist beliefs, the officer may feel more threatened by black people compared to white people due to their implicit biases. Studies also reveal that African Americans get stopped by police more frequently that White Americans. Stanford University examined data in Oakland, California and found that African Americans make up 60 percent of police stops, but are only 28 percent of Oakland population. ”They were also found to be four times more likely than white men to be searched during a traffic stop even though officers were not more likely to find contraband after searching” (Weir 1). This shows that officers are biased towards black people and …show more content…
Psychologists say there is an “Implicit System” in the brain known as the amygdala, that is structured to be reactive and not reasoned, and it produces quick generalizations. These mental shortcuts are often necessary for us to react quickly without taking the time to think (Matysik 1). Which explains why police often mistakenly shoot unarmed black people during split second decisions, when feeling threatened police often rely on mental shortcuts and associations that could influence their decision to
The University of California found “evidence of a significant bias in the killings of unarmed Black Americans relative to unarmed White Americans” (Weir 1). They discovered the likelihood of being a African American, unarmed and shot by an officer is approximately 3.5 times the likelihood of being a White American, unarmed and shot by an officer (Weir 1). Although, many people think these disparities are due to racism among the police force, this is actually due to their implicit biases. For example, many people unconsciously associate black people with negative characteristics like hostile, dangerous or threatening and may also associate them with gang violence and crime, even if they don't hold any explicitly racist beliefs, the officer may feel more threatened by black people compared to white people due to their implicit biases. Studies also reveal that African Americans get stopped by police more frequently that White Americans. Stanford University examined data in Oakland, California and found that African Americans make up 60 percent of police stops, but are only 28 percent of Oakland population. ”They were also found to be four times more likely than white men to be searched during a traffic stop even though officers were not more likely to find contraband after searching” (Weir 1). This shows that officers are biased towards black people and …show more content…
Psychologists say there is an “Implicit System” in the brain known as the amygdala, that is structured to be reactive and not reasoned, and it produces quick generalizations. These mental shortcuts are often necessary for us to react quickly without taking the time to think (Matysik 1). Which explains why police often mistakenly shoot unarmed black people during split second decisions, when feeling threatened police often rely on mental shortcuts and associations that could influence their decision to