WHAT DOES THE IMPLICIT ASSOCIATION TEST REALLY MEASURE? INSIGHTS FROM THE THEORETICAL DEBATE
Journal
PSYCHOLOGIA
Journal Volume
66
Journal Issue
2
Start Page
137
End Page
148
ISSN
0033-2852
1347-5916
Date Issued
2024
Author(s)
TAHAMATA, Valentino Marcel
Abstract
Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a popular tool that is widely used in the field of social cognition. Part of the reason why is because the IAT is often used as a measurement of implicit social bias-though this assumption has been increasingly challenged in the literature. In this short review, we focus on a variety of cognitive mechanisms that can possibly explain the IAT's output, and argue that IAT is a downstream measurement that can be reflecting either: 1) implicit attitude, 2) explicit attitude, or 3) explicit but concealed attitude. As such, studies that attempt to infer implicitness or dissociate explicit and implicit attitudes may require caution in data interpretation.
Subjects
concealed information
Implicit Association Test
implicit attitude
implicit social cognition
implicit-explicit correlation
social cognition
Publisher
Psychologia Society
Type
journal article