An officer who holds implicit bias is most likely to:

• A. Be fully aware of their prejudices and openly discuss them.
• B. Always act in a fair and impartial manner.
• C. Unconsciously judge others without awareness, which can affect decisions.
• D. Refuse to train on bias.

Answer: (C)

Implicit bias are attitudes or stereotypes that operate outside conscious awareness and can shape how we perceive, interpret, and respond to others. An officer with implicit bias is most likely to unconsciously judge others without awareness, and those automatic judgments can influence decisions and actions in the field. Because these biases act beneath awareness, they can creep into quick assessments, such as whom to scrutinize, how to interpret a person's behavior, or how forcefully to respond, even when the officer intends to be fair.

This differs from being fully aware of prejudices and openly discussing them, which reflects explicit bias rather than implicit bias. It also explains why someone might not always act impartially—implicit biases can nudge decisions in subtle ways despite good intentions. And training to address bias is a common, proactive approach; refusing to engage in bias training would miss a key tool for reducing these automatic influences.