Lecture Notes: Implicit Association Test

Introduction to the Implicit Association Test (IAT)

• Developed around 15 years ago, popular in psychological research.
• Originated from attempts to measure the mind, initially through introspection and verbal reports.
• Shift towards indirect measures of cognition in past 30 years.

Indirect Measures of Cognition

• Developed to better understand mental processes without verbal responses.
• Example: Measuring response time to associated words.

Description of the Implicit Association Test

• Invented by Professor Anthony Greenwald, University of Washington, mid-1990s.
• Test Mechanism:
  • Participants sort stimuli (e.g., playing cards, faces, words) into categories.
  • Speed and accuracy in associating categories are measured.
• Example:
  • Sorting black/red cards vs. diamonds/spades (more mistakes, longer time).
  • Associating black/white faces with good/bad words.
• Findings:
  • People show slower response times when associations are counterintuitive.

Applications and Importance

• Measures:
  • Strength of association between concepts (good/bad, rich/poor, etc.).
• Applications:
  • Personal bias understanding and self-reflection.
  • Influence on behavior in hiring, medical decisions, legal judgments.

Scientific Impact

• Provides insight into unconscious biases and associations.
• Highlights discrepancies between self-reported attitudes and implicit biases.
• Applicable globally, as binary thinking is common across cultures.

Improvement and Future Directions

• Current tests are seen as preliminary.
• Aim for more refined and accurate measures of mental processes.
• Comparison to medical instruments: evolving for better precision and impact.

Conclusion

• Ongoing research to refine the IAT and find superior methods.
• Potential to influence understanding of human cognition and behavior positively.