Distributed Bias: A Distributed Cognition Approach to the Emergence of Institutional Bias

Abstract

Prejudice and discrimination operate at individual and systemic levels, yet much remains unknown about how bias transcends from the individual to shape the behaviors and cognitions of social systems. Distributed cognition theory offers a needed perspective in this gap, positing that cognition is not confined to individual minds, but rather is distributed across individuals and environments throughout time. As such, system-level outcomes are not directly predictable from the cognitive properties of individuals but instead emerge from interactions of individuals with one another and with their environments. Here, a distributed bias approach is proposed, such that individuals within institutions and broader social systems interact with each other and the complex array of tools in their environments, transforming the cognitive processes involved in group-based discrimination, consequently propagating systemic institutional bias. This approach offers a new mechanistic foundation for the emergence of institutional bias and proposes several avenues for future research and application.