# Basic and Translational Research to Combat Stereotypes and Unintentional Biases

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2022 · $381,761

## Abstract

Basic and Translational Research to Combat Stereotypes and Unintentional Biases
 Automatically activated stereotypes give rise to unintentional (implicit) biases in people's thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors, even when such biases are strongly opposed by social norms, personal convictions, and objective
evidence. Stereotypes and unintentional biases have been implicated as an important social justice issue with
consequences for the mental and physical health of members of stigmatized groups. Stereotypes and uninten-
tional biases also create barriers to scientific progress by contributing to the underrepresentation of racial minori-
ties and women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. In response to these social, health,
and scientific issues, the NIH and nearly every other scientific organization has called for effective interventions to
address unintentional biases (NIH, 2015). Many of the responses to these calls, however, have taken the form of
interventions that are not grounded in scientific theory and evidence — absent a deeper understanding of human
cognition rooted in basic cognitive science, these interventions often seek to address the symptoms of bias with-
out treating their underlying causes. Although well-intentioned, these efforts at best do not work and at worst
make bias problems worse (Paluck & Green, 2009). The sole intervention that has been empirically demonstrated
to produce lasting, meaningful bias reductions is the prejudice habit-breaking intervention, which my colleagues
and I have developed and tested experimentally in recent years. The initial success of the prejudice habit-break-
ing intervention arises from its strong empirical evidence base. Its scientific model of cognitive and behavioral
change builds upon decades of basic research into the mechanisms of stereotyping and unintentional bias. This
work powerfully demonstrates why both basic and translational research are needed to effectively combat bias.
 Stereotyping and biases are supported by the same learning mechanisms that contribute to learning and
cognition about non-social targets. Much of my past and future research draws on basic cognitive neuroscience
to develop and test novel hypotheses about how specific learning mechanisms (e.g., Hebbian and reward/aver-
sion learning) contribute to the persistence of stereotypes and unintentional biases. With a better understanding
of the basic processes that make stereotypes resistant to change, I can then enhance my translational work with
the prejudice habit-breaking intervention to better address those sources of resistance. In this way, my basic and
translational work is synergistic, advancing knowledge around mechanisms of stereotype persistence and im-
proving and testing interventions to reduce stereotyping and unintentional biases.
 As a MIRA investigator, I would 1) expand our knowledge of how basic learning mechanisms perpetuate
stereotypes and unintentional biases, and 2) translat...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10468006
- **Project number:** 5R35GM128888-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** William Taylor Laimaka Cox
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $381,761
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10468006

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10468006, Basic and Translational Research to Combat Stereotypes and Unintentional Biases (5R35GM128888-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10468006. Licensed CC0.

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