Sorry, Unconscious Bias is Not The Answer to Everything

Lately I've noticed a large number of politicians, organizations and people in general use the term unconscious bias in order to explain a lot of the issues currently occurring in society.  

Since I hold a degree in Psychology, and have spent numerous hours exploring eastern philosophy, along with researching the theories of the conscious and unconscious mind.  I feel like I have a better grasp on the concept than most.  

As with most things, when they become politicized or are used for a certain purpose that they turn into something they are not.  Currently, unconscious or implicit bias is being used as a catch all for human behaviour and thinking.  I'm here to tell you that this stance is inaccurate, ignorant and intellectually dishonest.  

First and foremost; as with most things that fall under the psychological umbrella.  Implicit bias is a theory.  As is almost everything in psychology.  The concept is being touted as a scientifically proven fact, when it is not.  When it comes to measuring and quantifying the unconscious, there are studies that both prove and disprove various theories.  Nothing is considered fact and most everything is a theory.  

When it comes to implicit bias, the evidence suggests that most psychological tests demonstrate a low level of duplication (i.e the score you get on the test, if retaken at a later date will be completely different).  There is also strong evidence that suggests that implicit biases do not necessarily translate into prejudice or discriminatory behaviours.  

Secondly, the unconscious mind is something that psychologists and researchers have been studying for hundreds of years.  Philosophers have also been trying to answer the questions of human consciousness for thousands of years.  To think that the unconscious mind has been reduced to a place that holds only our biases is short sighted and simple minded.

Thirdly, since it is difficult to quantify any particular psychological theory.  There are numerous other theories that also explain the nature of human thinking and behaviour.  Typically, the preferred theory that people hold comes from which school of psychology they subscribe to.  It's not that one theory is considered the truth.  Again, nothing in the world of psychology is absolute.

Look, bias does exist.  However, the exact mechanism that drives bias and all human behaviour is still highly debated.  So when you hear some dumb fuck politician or organization touts it as something that is absolutely true, please use your common sense and understand that you're being played. 

Please stop letting people use implicit bias as an indisputable argument for behaviour.  There's more than one argument for why people do the things they do.  The human psyche is complex and for the most part immeasurable.  Do yourself a favour and stop repeating everything you hear.