Which statement best describes the key difference between implicit and explicit bias?

• A. Implicit bias is unconscious and automatic; explicit bias is conscious and intentional
• B. Both biases are equally conscious
• C. Implicit biases do not affect behavior
• D. Explicit biases are visible only to researchers

Answer: (A)

Implicit bias operates without our awareness and tends to act automatically, shaping snap judgments and reactions we might not realize we’re making. Explicit bias, on the other hand, is a belief or attitude we are consciously aware of and can articulate or act on deliberately. This distinction matters in physical therapy because a clinician may unintentionally treat a patient differently due to hidden preferences (implicit bias), even when they don’t endorse those beliefs. At the same time, explicit bias would show up as statements or actions reflecting a conscious prejudice, which the clinician could directly acknowledge or change through reflection and decision-making.

So, the best description is that implicit bias is unconscious and automatic, while explicit bias is conscious and intentional. The other ideas—everything being equally conscious, implicit biases not affecting behavior, or explicit biases being visible only to researchers—don’t fit because they misstate how awareness and influence operate in bias.