BLINDSPOT: HIDDEN BIASES OF GOOD PEOPLE Introduction by DEBORAH A. PRENTICE Dean of the Faculty, Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs Keynote by MAHZARIN BANAJI Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics, Harvard University, Department of Psychology Mahzarin Banaji studies unconscious thinking and feeling as they unfold in social group contexts and influence decisions about people’s worth, goodness, and competence. She is the author of the best-selling book Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People with Anthony Greenwald, published by Random House. This lecture is participatory, involving educational and even entertaining interactive exercises. It is geared toward providing insights into how our minds work, often in a surprising and even perplexing manner. Professor Banaji will speak to the question of how well-intentioned people behave in ways that deviate from their own values and principles, and how this state of affairs compromises decisions in the social context: decisions about a person’s worth and competence as it plays out in public settings whether it be schools, the workplace, or the street. The purpose of the lecture is to reveal mental blindspots that can compromise our professional and personal decisions if they are left unattended and to begin a conversation about what might be done to allow us to lead the examined life we aspire to. APRIL 13, 2017, 4:30PM, MCCOSH 50