Professor Helen Winter Presents "Strengthening Bonds Within an International Cohort" -- Harvard Law School

Professor Helen Winter presented "Strengthening Bonds Within an International Cohort" at Harvard Law School's orientation for LLM students. Making her second consecutive appearance, Professor Winter's workshop for 200 new LLM students from across the globe was highly interactive and engaging.

Professor Winter shared insights from her collaborative research with David Hoffman, titled "Follow the Science: Proven Strategies for Reducing Unconscious Bias," (SSRN) which was published in the Harvard Negotiation Law Review, 28 HARV. NEGOT. L. REV. 1 (2022). The students demonstrated strong interest and actively participated in exercises and simulations aimed at fostering cross-cultural connections and reducing bias.

Abstract of "Follow the Science: Proven Strategies for Reducing Unconscious Bias"

Mediators, arbitrators, and lawyers have a duty to be unbiased, and yet they-like others in society-are influenced by unconscious biases. Social psychologists have explored the origins of these biases and, in recent years, developed experimental techniques for reducing unconscious bias. This article surveys the social psychology literature regarding such techniques and identifies seven main categories of promising interventions: awareness, motivation, individuation, perspective-taking, contact, stereotype replacement, and mindfulness. The article suggests several real-world applications of these techniques to address both individual and systemic biases and concludes with a description of some unanswered questions regarding bias reduction strategies.