Abstract
An implicit association test (IAT) measures differential association of 2 target concepts with an attribute. The 2 concepts appear in a 2-choice task (2-choice task (e.g., flower vs. insect names), and the attribute in a 2nd task (e.g., pleasant vs. unpleasant words for an evaluation attribute). When instructions oblige highly associated categories (e.g., flower + pleasant) to share a response key, performance is faster than when less associated categories (e.g., insect & pleasant) share a key. This performance difference implicitly measures differential association of the 2 concepts with the attribute. In 3 experiments, the IAT was sensitive to (a) near-universal evaluative differences (e.g., flower vs. insect), (b) expected individual differences in evaluative associations (Japanese + pleasant vs. Korean + pleasant for Japanese vs. Korean subjects), and (c) consciously disavowed evaluative differences (Black + pleasant vs. White + pleasant for self-described unprejudiced White subjects).
Keywords
Implicit-association testPsychologyAssociation (psychology)Task (project management)CognitionSocial psychologyImplicit attitudeCognitive psychologyTest (biology)Differential (mechanical device)Developmental psychology
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Publication Info
- Year
- 1998
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 74
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1464-1480
- Citations
- 8355
- Access
- Closed
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Cite This
Anthony G. Greenwald,
Debbie E. McGhee,
Jordan L. K. Schwartz
(1998).
Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The implicit association test..
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
, 74
(6)
, 1464-1480.
https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.74.6.1464
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1037//0022-3514.74.6.1464