Researchers contend that an individual possesses a set of implicit attitudes that significantly influence their behavior. Implicit attitudes cannot be directly perceived as explicit attitudes (Blanton & Jaccard, 2008). Therefore, these attitudes are assessed using implicit measuring tools. Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a substantial assessment tool that accurately measures implicit attitudes and beliefs. Studies on the effectiveness of this assessment tool indicate that unlike most other tools, IAT provides a valid predictive assessment of implicit biases among individuals (Greenwald et al., 2009).
IAT is arguably the most popular assessment instrument that uses empirical data to evaluate implicit attitudes among individuals. The IAT measures the strength of associations between perceptions through the evaluation of responses to categorization tasks. The tasks are administered using a computer where individuals are required to give quick responses to contrasted concepts (Greenwald et al., 2009). Several studies have shown that the IAT assessment tool has psychometric properties that make it useful in evaluating implicit attitudes. For instance, a study revealed that familiarity with the contrasted IAT stimuli does not influence the participants' responses. Also, procedural variations, such as the number of tasks administered, were found to have minimal impact on the IAT measures (Greenwald et al., 2009). This means that the measurement tool is reliable and valid, thus providing an extensive evaluative approach to the implicit attitudes. Therefore, the IAT can be used to accurately predict the occurrence of social behavior based on the implicit biases possessed by an individual.
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Studies reveal that individuals undergo attitudinal processes in which their awareness is limited (Blanton & Jaccard, 2008). In such situations, explicit tools such as giving self-reports are not useful in providing accurate information about implicit attitudes. In this context, IAT has advantages over the other assessment instruments because it can evaluate implicit attitudes that cannot be captured by explicit measures. It provides an impervious approach to evaluate undesirable unconscious reactions such as racial bias (McConnell, & Leibold, 2001). Also, it gives a significant approach to predict social behavior among individuals. The predictive validity of the IAT measurement tool makes it useful in corporate and social worlds to promote desirable behavior. The automatic activation of associations during IAT measures also makes the IAT scores resistant to response bias, thus increasing its validity.
Implicit attitudes and beliefs have a significant impact on intergroup relations. Implicit bias can increase discriminatory behavior among individuals in a social group towards the out-group members. For instance, in a study involving white and black undergraduate students, a race IAT revealed that negative implicit attitudes by white students alluded to their racial prejudice behavior towards the black students (Greenwald et al., 1998). Therefore, implicit attitudes have considerable influence on the social interactions among individuals from different social groups. The existence of negative implicit attitudes is likely to cause undesirable social behavior such as racial discrimination towards out-group members.
References
Blanton, H., & Jaccard, J. (2008). Unconscious racism: A concept in pursuit of a measure. Annu. Rev. Sociol , 34 , 277-297.
Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. L. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: the implicit association test. Journal of personality and social psychology , 74 (6), 1464.
Greenwald, A. G., Poehlman, T. A., Uhlmann, E. L., & Banaji, M. R. (2009). Understanding and using the Implicit Association Test: III. Meta-analysis of predictive validity. Journal of personality and social psychology , 97 (1), 17.
McConnell, A. R., & Leibold, J. M. (2001). Relations among the Implicit Association Test, discriminatory behavior, and explicit measures of racial attitudes. Journal of experimental Social psychology , 37 (5), 435-442.
