Bias: Definition, Examples, & Types

By Julia Wolf, B.S., M.Sc. Candidate
​Reviewed by Tchiki Davis, M.A., Ph.D.
What are biases, why do they develop, and how do they affect us? Discover ways to uncover and challenge your own biases.
*This page may include affiliate links; that means we earn from qualifying purchases of products.
Every one of us holds biases: they are simply part of human nature. Biases can be learned, meaning they are taught to us in the context of our society and culture, or they can be innate, meaning we are born with them. Whether conscious or unconscious, biases can be strong enough to impact our thoughts, behaviors, and decisions. For that reason, it is important to explore the different types of biases, examples of biases, and how you can become more aware of your own biases.
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What Are Biases? (A Definition)

Bias can be defined as a predisposition or preference for a particular person, group, or perspective. They are usually not based on fact or reason, but rather a combination of factors such as age, gender, race, culture, personal experience, and more. Because they are not fact-based, biases can often result in unfair treatment toward a person or group of people. Gordon Allport, the author of “The Nature of Prejudice”, explains that bias is a result of our very human tendency to classify people into categories in order to quickly process information and make sense of the world around us (Allport, 1954).

Where Do Biases Come From?

One source of bias is cultural and societal norms, which have the power to influence our beliefs and attitudes towards certain groups. For example, cultural norms surrounding masculinity dictate the way men are “supposed to” dress or act, which may lead to discrimination against men who choose to break from those norms by wearing makeup or showing interest in things typically thought of as feminine, such as fashion. Biases based on societal norms can cause marginalized groups to face discrimination in many areas of life, including employment, education, and healthcare. 

Personal experience is another means through which we can form biases. For example, if we have negative experiences with one person belonging to a particular group, those experiences may influence our perceptions and behaviors towards another person we meet from that group in the future.

Finally, cognitive processes can also lead to the development of biases. Cognitive biases, which will be discussed in more detail later, can sometimes cause us to ignore information that contradicts our existing beliefs in favor of mental “shortcuts.” Cognitive biases can lead to error-prone judgment and decision-making that are not based on facts.

Types of Biases

In order to understand more specific types of biases, it is important to first recognize the two overarching categories of biases: implicit and explicit. 

Implicit Bias
The term “implicit bias” refers to our attitudes towards people or groups that operate without our conscious knowledge (Perception Institute, n.d.). Unfortunately, this means that our implicit biases can often precede our conscious behavior, which is typically based on our values. Being mindful of the risks of our implicit biases can help us to avoid acting in a way that does not align with our values.

Explicit Bias​
Explicit bias can be thought of as the typical notion of bias, meaning that an individual is aware of their perceptions and attitudes toward certain groups (Fridell, 2013). Explicit biases can be harmful because they lead to discriminatory behavior, perpetuate systemic inequalities, and have an overall negative impact on the mental health and well-being of those who are subject to discrimination.

Examples of Biases

Biases exist in a wide range of contexts. Some common examples of biases are explained below.
  • Gender bias refers to the act of favoring one gender over another, based on the person’s real or perceived gender identity.
  • Racial bias is making judgments about a person based solely on their race and is often rooted in racial stereotypes.
  • Age bias is the tendency to prefer one age group over another, and often involves discrimination against older people. However, it can go either way.

Unconscious Biases

Unconscious biases are a type of implicit bias in the sense that we are not actively aware of them. Some common examples of unconscious biases include:
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  • Affinity bias, or similarity bias, is the tendency to prefer people who have similar backgrounds, interests, and beliefs.
  • Beauty bias is when a person who is regarded as good-looking or attractive receives special treatment.
  • The Halo effect occurs when we allow positive impressions of a person in one area to influence our opinion about them in other areas.
  • The Horns effect is related to the Halo effect in that it occurs when we allow our perception of someone to be unfairly influenced by a single negative trait.

Some of these may be generally harmless. However, when these unconscious biases are applied to race, gender, sexual orientation, etc., they can become problematic and affect how we treat certain groups on a societal and institutional level. Check out the video below to learn about how exploring and overcoming our biases can help us be more compassionate.

Video: All of Us, an Award-Winning Video From Our Unconscious Bias Course

Cognitive Biases

Cognitive biases are biases that are based on how our brains process information and have the ability to affect our decision-making and problem-solving abilities. Some types of cognitive biases are explained below.
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  • Confirmation bias is the tendency to intentionally seek out information that confirms our existing beliefs while ignoring information that contradicts them. This bias can be particularly strong when we feel strongly about a topic or have a personal stake in the outcome.
  • Availability bias is when we rely on information that is easily accessible or readily available. This can lead to overestimating the likelihood of rare events or underestimating the likelihood of more common events.
  • Anchoring bias occurs when we rely too heavily on the first piece of information that we receive when making decisions. This can lead to an overreliance on initial impressions or data which may not always be accurate.
  • Framing bias happens when we are influenced by the way information is presented or framed. This can lead to making decisions based on whether the options were presented with positive or negative connotations.
  • Hindsight bias is the tendency to believe that past events were more predictable than they really were. You may have heard the saying “hindsight is 20/20”, meaning that when we look back on things the answers seem more clear than they did at the time.

Video: 12 Cognitive Biases Explained - How to Think Better and More Logically Removing Bias

Research on Biases

Psychologists have long wondered about the ways biases affect our perceptions and behaviors. Several studies have looked at the ways in which biases play into the workplace. For example, it is well known that people who are considered conventionally attractive are more likely to be interviewed for jobs and subsequently hired (Busetta et al., 2013), and even to advance faster in their careers (Chung and Leung, 1988; Hosoda et al., 2003) and earn higher wages (Fletcher, 2009) than those who are considered unattractive. Different types of psychologists have different theories for why this is. 

Social psychologists assert that attractive people are perceived as more intelligent, friendlier, and healthier while unattractive people are perceived as dull, introverted, and less trustworthy (Langlois et al., 2000). On the other hand, evolutionary psychologists argue that this bias comes down to sexual preference. Because humans typically have a sexual preference for somebody we consider physically attractive, we are more likely to choose them and discriminate against people we do not find attractive, i.e. have a sexual preference for (Langlois et al., 2000). Regardless of the reasoning, this is an important bias to be aware of, because you cannot actually judge a person’s character or abilities based on their perceived attractiveness.
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It is important to note that even research itself can be biased. For example, the population that is most often represented in research is WEIRD: white, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic. This leads to the question of whether study results are generalizable across cultures, ethnic groups, socioeconomic groups, and more. It is crucial that research be conducted with diverse samples so that we can better understand our differences and similarities.

Bias vs Prejudice

Bias and prejudice are often used interchangeably, but they actually refer to different things. Bias refers to a preference or inclination toward a certain person, thing, or idea, while prejudice refers to a preconceived opinion or attitude about a group of people. For example, a person may have a bias towards hiring candidates who went to the same university as they did, while having a prejudice against people who belong to a certain racial or ethnic group.

Bias vs Stereotype

Like bias and prejudice, bias and stereotyping are often used to mean the same thing, but there is a difference. Unlike bias, a stereotype refers to a generalized belief or assumption about a group of people.

Biases in Healthcare

Biases in healthcare refer to the ways in which personal beliefs, prejudices, and stereotypes can influence the quality of care that individuals receive. These biases can arise at various levels of the healthcare system, from individual healthcare providers to institutional policies and practices.

One example of bias in healthcare is racial bias, which can lead to disparities in the quality of care that individuals receive based on their race or ethnicity. For example, studies have shown that Black patients are less likely to receive appropriate pain management (Sabin and Greenwald, 2012) compared to White patients, even when controlling for factors such as the severity of pain and other medical conditions. This can result in poorer health outcomes for Black patients and perpetuate systemic inequalities in healthcare.

Gender bias also rears its ugly head in healthcare, which can lead to disparities in the quality of care that individuals receive based on their gender presentation. For example, women may be less likely to receive appropriate diagnostic testing for certain conditions, such as heart disease, due to assumptions that they are less likely to have these conditions than men (Kent et al., 2012). This can result in delayed diagnoses and negative health outcomes for women.
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It is important for healthcare providers and institutions to be aware of these biases and take steps to address them. This can include implementing training programs to raise awareness of biases and their impact on healthcare, developing policies and practices that promote equity and diversity, and engaging in ongoing evaluation and monitoring of healthcare outcomes to identify and address disparities. By addressing biases in healthcare, we can improve the quality of care that individuals receive and promote greater health equity for all.

Biases in Decision Making

Biases in decision-making refer to the various ways in which our judgments and decision-making processes can be influenced by our preconceptions, personal beliefs, and expectations. These biases can lead us to make suboptimal decisions that are not based on objective evidence or facts, and these decisions are often not in our best interest. It is important to be aware of these biases and work to minimize their impact on our decision-making processes.

Biases and Heuristics

A heuristic is a mental shortcut that we use to simplify complex decision-making processes. While heuristics can be helpful in allowing us to make quick decisions, they can also lead to biases if we rely too heavily on them. For example, the availability heuristic can lead us to rely on the most readily available information when making decisions, even if it is not the most accurate or relevant. 

Another common heuristic is the representativeness heuristic, which involves making judgments based on how closely something matches our existing mental prototype or stereotype. This can lead us to make assumptions about individuals or groups based on preconceived notions or generalizations, which can lead to biases and discrimination. It is important to be aware of these biases and heuristics and work to minimize their impact on our thought processes. By being mindful of our biases and heuristics, we can make more informed and objective decisions.

Video: Heuristics and Biases in Decision Making, Explained

Are Biases Inevitable?

A quote by Charles Curtis reads: “Bias and prejudice are attitudes to be kept in hand, not attitudes to be avoided” (Charles Curtis, n.d.). Because biases are an inevitable part of the human experience, it’s important that rather than avoid them and pretend they don’t exist, we keep tabs on our own biases and why we have them. While we can’t necessarily help the biases we have, we can work to challenge them.

Strategies to Reduce Bias

​Below is a list of research-based techniques published by the U.S. Justice Department (n.d.) to help reduce your own implicit biases. This guide is specifically designed in the context of policing, however, it is very helpful as a general resource. You can find the full guide here.
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  1. Stereotype Replacement: This strategy involves first identifying that a response is stereotypical, labeling it as such and considering why it may have occurred, and choosing alternate responses to use in the future to avoid the stereotypical response.
  2. Individuation: This is the act of giving individuality to persons in a group, and helps you to avoid making biased assumptions about an individual based on their group membership. To do this, you should try to gather information about that individual such as their history, qualifications, experiences, and achievements before making a judgment about them. 
  3. Perspective Taking: This approach involves taking a first-person perspective of a member of a group. If you are attempting to overcome gender biases, try to imagine how you would feel if you lost job opportunities based on assumptions about family responsibilities or questions about your competence to do the job. This thought process can help you to empathize and understand the implications of biases against that group (Devine et al., 2012).
  4. Increased Opportunities for Contact: This technique involves seeking out opportunities to engage with groups you may have biases against in a positive way. Having positive personal experiences with people of a certain group can help to alter associations you may have about them. This way, when thinking about members of that group in the future, your perceptions about them will come from these positive experiences rather than from societal stereotypes about them.

Articles Related to Biases​

​Want to learn more? Check out these articles:

Books Related to Biases​

If you’d like to keep learning more, here are a few books that you might be interested in.

Final Thoughts on Biases

It is important to understand that we all have biases, and they are not necessarily intentional or conscious. In fact, not all biases are necessarily bad. For example, optimism bias can cause us to overestimate the likelihood of positive outcomes and underestimate the likelihood of negative ones. While this may sometimes lead to unrealistic expectations, it can also provide a sense of hopefulness in the face of adversity.

Biases are often unconscious and automatic, meaning they are not within our control. By becoming aware of our own personal biases and their impact on our attitudes and behaviors, we can work to overcome them and strive for greater fairness, equity, and compassion in our interactions with those who are different from us. This can be done in a number of ways, such as through introspection, seeking out diverse perspectives, and challenging our own assumptions and beliefs.

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