Why ID Professionals Must Confront Bias

In the world of instructional design, we often talk about "Learner-Centered Design." We conduct needs assessments, build personas, and map out learning paths. But there is a silent partner in the room during every design session: our own bias.

Today, I took the Harvard Implicit Association Test (IAT) regarding physical disability. The IAT measures how quickly our brains associate concepts. For instance, "Physically Abled" or "Physically Disabled" would be paired with evaluations like "Good" or "Bad." My results showed that I was equally fast at sorting both categories. In the world of the IAT, this is represented by a grey value, indicating a neutral association. While this feels like a "good" result, it isn't a signal to be too proud and stop paying attention. In fact, it’s a reminder that bias isn't just about bad intent, but mainly it’s about the mental shortcuts our brains take.

Why should we care about these split-second associations? Studies show that IAT results can predict real-world discrimination in education and healthcare. For an instructional designer, bias can manifest in several ways:

1. An “able learner” by default –  if we subconsciously associate "abled" with "normal" or "good," we tend to design for the abled person first and add accessibility features (like Alt-Text or captions) as an afterthought. This creates a "separate but equal" experience that may be often clunky and frustrating.

   
   

2. Bias influences the images we choose for our modules and the scenarios we write. People with disabilities are more often shown in "struggling" roles, rather than leaders.

   
   

3. Mental disabilities symptoms, while not as noticeable, can be significant factors. If we bias toward a "high-energy, fast-processing" learner, we exclude those dealing with chronic illness or cognitive variations.

   
   

My takeaway would be that acknowledging that bias exists within each of us isn't an admission of failure; rather, it is a call to professional rigor and a practice in being humble.

Icon of the Theotokos, My Refuge, My Strength. Source: The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America https://www.goarch.org/-/an-icon-in-icon