Implicit tests

[GameTheory]

https://implicit.harvard.edu/


I was reading about the tests given at the above site in the book BLINK. The test discussed in the book had to do with racial preference, and that is the one I was given first -- don't know if everyone gets that one first or not, but if you go to the demo page you can pick out some of the tests to do without registering.

They show you black & white faces and you have to click on your keyboard to indicate black or white. Then they associate "good" words like "wonderful" or "happy" with the whites and "bad" words with the blacks. Then they switch them. You are supposed to click the right answers as fast as possible. Supposedly (according to BLINK) most people, even blacks, have a stronger association with white & good than with black & good. And apparently even when people practice the test with the idea of being neutral or black-favoring, they can't do it (again, according to BLINK).

So, being a white guy, I expected similar results, but I got a "moderate preference for blacks" (which is the 2nd grade of preference, "slight" being less strong). So apparently I have reverse racist tendencies.

I also discovered in another test that I strongly prefer Meg Ryan to Julia Roberts, but then I knew that already. I hate Julia Roberts...

[chickenhead]

no preference for white or black, moderate preference young to old. Tho those old people they chose were freaky looking, probably had something to do with it.

[toetoe]

And the scientific Holy Grail this test shall reveal is ... ??????

[46zilzal]

have to read BLINK to find out

[Suff]

Originally Posted by GameTheory

https://implicit.harvard.edu/


I was reading about the tests given at the above site in the book BLINK. The test discussed in the book had to do with racial preference, and that is the one I was given first -- don't know if everyone gets that one first or not, but if you go to the demo page you can pick out some of the tests to do without registering.

They show you black & white faces and you have to click on your keyboard to indicate black or white. Then they associate "good" words like "wonderful" or "happy" with the whites and "bad" words with the blacks. Then they switch them. You are supposed to click the right answers as fast as possible. Supposedly (according to BLINK) most people, even blacks, have a stronger association with white & good than with black & good. And apparently even when people practice the test with the idea of being neutral or black-favoring, they can't do it (again, according to BLINK).

So, being a white guy, I expected similar results, but I got a "moderate preference for blacks" (which is the 2nd grade of preference, "slight" being less strong). So apparently I have reverse racist tendencies.

I also discovered in another test that I strongly prefer Meg Ryan to Julia Roberts, but then I knew that already. I hate Julia Roberts...

I consider myself slightly racist due to my upbringing, surroundings , associations and so on. I was surprised at my results.

You have completed the study

Thank you for your participation. We are investigating how attitudes about race may be influenced by exposure to descriptions of different philosophies for improving race relations, and whether differences in the wording of such statements has an effect. The statement you read at the beginning was randomly assigned to you from among three primary classes of statements: one (1) described a “multicultural” approach to improving race relations, emphasizing recognition and appreciation of group differences; another (2) described a “color-blind” approach, emphasizing a focus on the individual and on membership in a larger, all-inclusive group, e.g., Americans or humans; and (3) one was a “control” statement (about “academic freedom”) that had no obvious relation to the subject of race relations. Additionally, some of the statements were varied in terms of whether words like “conflict” or “harmony” were used.

Your result for the Implicit Association Test that you completed during this study is reported below. This result is already corrected for the order in which you performed the task, i.e., whether you were first asked to use one key for African American faces and good words or for European American faces and good words.

Your data suggest little or no association between European American and African American with Good and Bad.

If your score was described as 'inconclusive,' then your performance was not within the range to provide an interpretable result. Most inconclusive results are due to a high number of errant responses.

Depending on the magnitude of your result, your automatic associations may be described as 'slight', 'moderate', 'strong', or 'little to no association.' How implicit associations affect our judgments and behaviors is not well understood. We don't yet know whether scores reported in this study were generally influenced by the nature of the introductory statement read by each participant. Furthermore, it is possible that your scores are influenced by a number of other variables including your familiarity with the categories and the particular items used to represent the categories. Therefore, scores should NOT be thought of as a definitive assessment of your implicit thoughts or feelings, but may serve as a basis for self-reflection.

The topic of this task was randomly assigned to you from a list of approximately 100 topics. You are welcome to complete as many sessions as you wish, and every session will be a different topic. Some will be topics you have thought about many times, others might be new or unusual topics that you have not considered before. Just return to the login page and enter your email address to start again.

If you have unanswered questions about the task, please review background information about this research and follow the links to the questions of specific interest to you. You may also contact the principal investigator for this study by clicking here. Thanks again for your participation.

[toetoe]

This study is part of LBJ's Great Society, right? If it weren't such cultural mastubation, and therefore right up Jon Stewart's alley, it would be a perfect target for his skewering.

[so.cal.fan]

Your data suggest little to no automatic preference between White and Black.

I pretty much knew that.

[chickenhead]

looks like GT is the only racist among us.

[GameTheory]

Come on! Where are all the white racist devils?!

[chickenhead]

I really have to question the usefullness of things like this, at least as having any meaning for an individual, I guess over a large sample of people it might mean something.

I took the current/past presidents test, it told me I moderately preferred Bush over previous presidents. I have no quibble necessarily with that, maybe that is true, what I disagree with is how they came to that conclusion.

I screwed up once only on that test, the left side was supposed to be past presidents and good, and I think after a picture of Ford the word Nasty or something came up and I hit the "e" button, so I got an X.

Ford was president while I was a toddler, I know next to nothing about him, and I doubt highly I on any level associate the word Nasty with him. Maybe if the test was several thousand images long you could draw some conclusion for the individual, but it seems awfully short, though I wouldn't have taken it if it was any longer. I think regardless of the test subject I would on average screw up once or twice at the speed I was going, but they would be fairly random.

[46zilzal]

these are really testing semanitics I'm afraid

[Tom]

I had a slight automatic preference for white Americans. But I don''t think the test really measured anything. I don't think that kind of test is valid beyond parlor games. Much like Harvard.

[JustRalph]

I logged in as Flavor Flav ..........apparently I have a preference for all women with big asses!

[GaryG]

Originally Posted by JustRalph

I logged in as Flavor Flav ..........apparently I have a preference for all women with big asses!