The difference between implicit biases and stereotypes

The difference between implicit biases and stereotypes

Stereotypes refer to positive or negative beliefs that we develop towards a particular thing or a specific group. While stereotyping, one is accustomed to believe that one member has some particular characteristics or attributes that make us assume that the whole group has. It is a significant disadvantage caused since people ignore the fact that Diversity runs among different people. On the other hand, implicit bias refers to the attitudes that affect our understanding, actions, and the decisions of our unconscious mind. Unconscious mind in this cause means that we do not discriminate knowingly it is our brain that is wired for speed. According to a central assumption of implicit social cognition theories, it states that social experiences can coax inherent process effects in an organization of memory beliefs.

The difference between explicit stereotyping and attitudes

Explicit stereotyping bases its definition from the word stereotyping. However, stereotyping refers to the deliberate thought about someone or something and the report. Explicit is usually on the opposing side as a result of the consciousness of a person. For instance, an explicit stereotype regarding gender would be; all males enjoy watching and playing football. It is a conscious set of believes that one develops as a result of the environment that they are or their sole judgment of issues. On the other hand, an attitude refers to the evaluation of an object, which might range from extreme negative to extreme positive. People can hold both negative and positive attitudes toward the same object. Attitude usually influences attention to objects, unlike explicit stereotypes. It uses the different categories or encoding information and makes someone have a variety of interpretations about an object. Attitudes usually guide and dictates the attention and behaviors of individuals towards what they are pursuing.

How biases might affect courtroom proceedings such as a bail/bond proceeding, pretrial proceeding, first appearance, and having a private lawyer instead of a public defender.

According to (Clemons 2014) he states that bias affects many of the different areas of the courtroom processes. Implicit bias affects the way judges view various issues brought to them in the courtrooms, prosecutors, and defense attorneys. Due to inherent biases, judges made to render judgments that do not favor minorities. It is also known that judges have the “illusion of objectivity”. It allows them to feel confident that they cannot be biased at any point of time during court processes. Implicit biasness does not only affect how judges perceive information but also the outcomes of their decision.

According to McCabe and Krauss (2011) states that legally irrelevant, but highly emotional with the integration of mood has profoundly affected the juries leading to their biased judgments. An example would be distressing psychological evidence brought on the courtroom, maybe through a video clip. Regardless of the lack of probative information, the juries are forced to take more punitive actions towards the criminals, which are useful in bias.

The importance of the Diversity of courtroom and corrections employees.

The importance of Diversity in the courts is vital since it ensures that the trust in the court system is protected and preserved. Racial and gender diversity is essential in the judicial system. It should be valued through increased public confidence brought up by the provision of just decisions in courts. Diversity in the courtrooms should be reflected on the bench by putting forth judges and magistrates drawn from different communities, races, and gender. Constitutional and statutory provisions defines who can be eligible to serve as a judge, there is a significant differences in the provisions and qualifications,. The most common qualification is the age, legal experience, residency and academic qualification. Some of the states have minimal requirement age of judges ranging from 25 years to 35 years which differed in states. Proper measures and policies should be put in place to ensure that Diversity is a factor that is considered while appointing and voting in judicial employees. It will foster equality and reduce the level of biasness that runs through the court system. Majorly, it will enhance the outcome of decisions being made on the bench based on those juries that will dissent and assent a case.

How racial disparity in sentencing affects the judicial system. Provide statistics to support your explanation.

Over the past years, statistics have shown that racial disparity has affected the sentencing effect of the judicial system in diverse ways. Blacks and Latinos received cruel treatment than whites in several sentencing decisions. Due to that fact, racial disparities were the main factor that led to increased sentencing outcomes of blacks and Latinos in the past. A minority of races is a big issue in the courtroom; for instance, cases regarding blacks and Hispanics receiver harsher charges based on the racial background of the defendant. According to (Kamalu et al. 2010), after reviewing 32 studies that were about sentencing and ethnicity, he found that racial background and ethnicity played a significant part in sentencing by the juries. She went ahead and concluded that African Americans and Hispanic offenders had a high probability of conviction and imprisonment than the whites. He further breaks down based on their gender and employment situations in that especially if they were male and unemployed, and they fell into traps of being easily jailed.

References

Kutateladze, B. L., Andiloro, N. R., & Johnson, B. D., Spohn, C.C. (2014, August). CUMULATIVE DISADVANTAGE: EXAMINING RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITY IN PROSECUTION AND SENTENCING.. Criminology, 52(3), 514-551. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/ehost/detail/detail?sid=c192fe409e

McCabe, J. G., & Krauss, D. A. (2011). The Effect of Acknowledging Mock Jurors’ Feelings on Affective and Cognitive Biases: It Depends on the Sample. Behavioral Sciences & The Law, 29(3), 331-357. doi:10.1002/bsl.990

Clemons, J. T. (2014, Summer). Blind injustice: the Supreme Court, implicit racial bias, and the racial disparity in the criminal justice system. American Criminal Law Review, 51(3), .

Ashton, A. P. (2012). Popular culture and Diversity in the courtroom. Jury Expert, 24, 4.

Tomkins, A. J., & Pfeifer, J. E. (1992). Modern social-scientific theories and data concerning discrimination: implications for using social science evidence in the courts. In Handbook of psychology and law (pp. 385-407). Springer, New York, NY.