What does the Implicit Association Test (IAT) measure?

Question

What does the Implicit Association Test (IAT) measure?

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks: What does the Implicit Association Test (IAT) measure?

Since the provided answer options are not listed here, I will first address the general concept of what the IAT is designed to assess.

The IAT is a psychological measure used to reveal automatic associations between concepts (for example, categories like 'race' or 'gender') and evaluations (such as 'good' or 'bad'). It aims to capture implicit or unconscious biases that people may hold, which operate outside of deliberate, conscious awareness or control.

Specifically, the test typically assesses unconscious associations and implicit biases about groups, including whether someone more readily pairs a given social group with positive or negative attributes. These associations can influence judgments and behavior even when a person explicitly endorses more egalitarian views.

Reason this is the core idea: the IAT relies on reaction time differences when participants categorize stimuli under various pairing conditions. Faster response times for certain pairings (e.g., Group A with a positive attribute) relative to others suggest a stronger automatic association, which is the essence of implicit bias measurement.

Now, evaluating potential alternative statements in a typical option set (even though explicit options are missing here):
- If an option claimed that the IAT measures conscious beliefs about groups, that would be inaccurate, because the test targets automatic associations rather than deliberate self-reports.
- If an option suggested that the IAT measures general intelligence or behavior in daily life, that would mischaracterize the tool, since it is specifically about associations between concepts and attributes, not broad outcomes.
- If an option asserted that the IAT only detects biases that a person openly acknowledges, that would be false, as the IAT is designed to uncover associations that may not align with self-reported attitudes.

In summary, the central claim supported by the IAT is that it measures unconscious, automatic associations and implicit biases about social groups, which people may not be aware of or may not endorse explicitly, even when those biases exist in their spontaneous evaluations.

PSYC20009_2025_SM2 Lecture 8 Quiz

What does the Implicit Association Test (IAT) measure?

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What does the Implicit Association Test (IAT) measure?

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