Turning awareness of bias into action
The Harvard School of Public Health’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion defines unconscious bias as “instant judgments we make about people and situations based on years of subconscious socialization.” [1] This includes notable concepts such as affinity bias, beauty bias, confirmation bias, conformity bias, and gender bias. Unconscious bias can have a negative impact on the workforce, perpetuating stereotypes, increasing turnover in the workplace, and increasing employee turnover. [2] E-learning gamification (or the pedagogical application of game play principles to non-gaming concepts in general) can be a powerful tool for addressing unconscious bias by turning what can be abstract, uncomfortable, or theoretical topics into active, experiential learning moments that build awareness, empathy, and behavioral change. Applying game mechanics like storytelling, customized responses, and progression increases engagement and motivation. Gamification uses game elements to stimulate employee participation, empathy, and self-reflection. These elements include clear goals, narrative challenges, immediate feedback, and graduated rewards. Research in cognitive psychology and learning sciences supports the use of gamification to disrupt automatic thoughts. Interactive simulation activates the prefrontal cortex, responsible for decision-making and self-regulation, while reducing the influence of the amygdala, which triggers instinctive and emotional responses. This physiological engagement helps learners slow down and process decisions more consciously, and is a key element in reducing bias. A gamified approach to unconscious bias makes recognizing bias tangible, personal, and memorable.
To help employees recognize, address, and avoid unconscious bias, Walmart and Activica Training Solutions partnered to create ConsciousLands. This is a learning game that challenges truly universal biases that we all share to some degree by designing truly universal concepts. In this epic intergalactic space opera, player learners are sent on a complex quest to find an ancient relic (a sacred talisman) that will bring peace to the United Federation of Planets. After choosing an alien avatar, stages of this quest are completed through a series of branching conversations with different types of intelligent bipedal creatures that are not human. This choice allowed players to remove their own biases, leaving them unable to immediately see themselves in any character, while still modeling the concept of unconscious bias. How the player interacts with the character reveals various unconscious biases in the player, but who the player chooses as their avatar also reveals the unconscious biases of the non-player characters, which the player must navigate differently in order to accomplish their mission goals. The other characters’ biases change based on their chosen avatar, so the game experience changes (and therefore the feedback changes) based on who the learner chooses.
Branching simulations encourage learners to test their instincts, face consequences, and consider alternative approaches. This process transforms passive knowledge into active decision-making skills. In Consciouslands, divergent scenarios allow learners to confront choices shaped by implicit biases and learn how different choices create different possibilities. This facilitates reproducibility to uncover new possibilities of different decisions and new possibilities arising from choosing different avatars. Each choice has consequences and reinforces the emotional and social impact of bias. Promoting reproducibility improves comprehension, retention, and repeated application (or different practices of new concepts). The replayability of gamification makes bias awareness a recurring habit rather than a one-time compliance event.
A refreshing innovation in Consciouslands is this ability to take on different roles and observe how different types of characters react to you depending on the role you choose. By viewing scenarios from multiple perspectives, learners build empathy and awareness of how others experience bias. Learners build empathy through the mechanics of storytelling as they are exposed to multiple characters whose perspectives change through an immersive narrative. They encounter different characters in different environments with different challenges and different unconscious biases. In order to successfully complete the game, the player must go through all these carefully.
When gamifying unconscious bias learning simulations, the goal is not just to raise awareness, but to change behavior. Consciouslands promotes mastery through progressive learning. Players perceive their progress (and regression) through a relationship meter that is constantly displayed on screen to measure their growth in consciousness. Immediate feedback helps learners recognize patterns in their thinking. Instead of one-time “right or wrong” evaluations, the system tracks choices, rewards progress toward inclusive behavior, and provides coaching through a friendly Station Chief (a player’s in-universe mentor) with access to an unconscious bias guidebook.
As a gamified e-learning experience, Consciouslands is designed to be experimental, playful, and fun, but learners are still expected to acquire a valid vocabulary and plan of action regarding unconscious bias, and players are asked to refer to guidebooks to learn unfamiliar terms, concepts, and strategies. In this model, the fun of the game is enhanced by the necessary academic weight.
Unconscious bias continues to be one of the most persistent barriers to inclusion, equity, and innovation in the workplace. Despite years of mandatory training and awareness efforts, organizations often struggle to turn good intentions into lasting behavioral changes. The problem is usually not a lack of awareness. It’s a lack of meaningful engagement. Some facts:
According to reports, 39% of employees experience unconscious bias at least once a month. [3]
Acting on unconscious bias increases the risk that companies will not comply with laws and regulations. [4]
The cost of workplace bias is estimated at $64 billion annually. [5]
You need memorable, impactful training that changes employee behavior toward a kinder, more welcoming, and more rewarding workplace. Gamification encourages continuous improvement and knowledge sharing among employees. [6]
85% of employees are more engaged through e-learning gamification. [7]
Gamified learning participants scored 14% higher on skill-based assessments. [8]
conclusion
Actica and Walmart’s collaboration to develop ConsciousLands, a gamified approach to unconscious bias behavior change, is a model for merging business needs and employee demands to increase engagement and drive change. The lessons of Consciouslands extend beyond this one implementation. They demonstrate how gamified learning can transform compliance-driven training into meaningful, culture-shaping experiences. In an era where learning is increasingly digital and data-driven, gamified e-learning provides a bridge between knowing and doing, turning awareness of bias into daily practical practice. When designed to be immersive, reflective, and measurable, gamified learning becomes more than just a training tool. It is a catalyst for belonging, innovation, and lasting cultural change.
References:
[1] understanding unconscious bias
[2] How unconscious bias affects employee engagement and retention
[3] Unconscious bias: The silent threat to workplace diversity
[4] Examples of unconscious bias and how to overcome it
[5] Unconscious bias in the workplace: Impact on the workplace
[6] Leveling up with corporate training: Uncovering the power of gamification
[7] 19 Gamification Trends from 2023 to 2025
[8] Top Gamification Statistics of 2024: Next Level Gaming
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