Society, perhaps you have a hold on my subconscious

Today I took the Implicit Association Test, or the IAT. For those of you who are not familiar with this test, it is your lucky day – because I will explain it to you in terms even your grandmother or older relative can understand! Greenwald and Banaji (1995) are credited with developing the Implicit Association Test. The IAT basically has to do with the notion that memories or ideas that are unconscious to us (i.e., not readily excisable/available to our conscious) may have a profound effect on our actions, attitudes, behaviors or even associations (Greenwald & Banaji, 1995). The IAT is a computer-based measure that requires participants to rapidly categorize words or pictures into one of two concepts, such that easier pairings (i.e., faster responses) are seen as being more strongly associated in memory (or the unconscious) than more difficult parings (i.e., slower responses). Additionally, due to the notion that the IAT requires participants to make many rapid judgments, it follows that IAT scores may also reflect attitudes, which people may be unwilling to reveal publicly (Greenwald, McGhee & Schwartz, 1998). This all boils down to the simple idea that the IAT is a computer-based test that assesses the extent to which the unconscious has an effect on rapid associations individuals make.

I took both the Gender-Science IAT and the Gender-Career IAT. I got different results for each test. For the gender-science test, my data suggested a slight association of Male with Science and Female with Liberal Arts compared to Female with Science and Male with Liberal Arts. My results for this specific test did not surprise me too much because I knew there was a bias within the sciences and liberal arts with respect to gender (one that I am exposed to within society on a daily basis). However, because I go to Southwestern and see many individuals (both Male and Female) within both domains, it makes sense to me that I only hold a slight bias. In contrast, my results for the Gender-Career IAT showed that I hold a strong association of Male with Career and Female with Family compared to Female with Career and Male with Family. This surprised me because growing up I always had a nanny or babysitter because my parents both worked all day. Growing up with both parents working, I thought, might contribute to a weaker association for the gender-career test, however I guess the strong association within society or some other factor led me to hold different associations for the Gender-Career IAT.

I think the IAT shows individuals “true” attitudes. That is, the test shows the attitudes that individuals subconsciously hold as a result of societal and other environmental influences. For example, I thought I would hold weaker gender-career association, because I grew up with both parents working. However, having many friends whose mothers did not work could have played a major factor in developing this unconscious association. Upon completion of this test, I did start to think about stereotypes and prejudice differently than I had before. I previously thought that if you were aware of how reality can diverge from stereotypical associations then this idea would appear when taking the IAT. Contrary to my expectations, it did not. Even as somebody who is aware that working and family can be equally associated with male or female, subconsciously this was not evident on the IAT test – society may have a bigger socializing factor than I originally thought.

(n=574) 

**Those stereotypes....**

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

glozell1 (2008, June, 8). My Push up Bra will help me keep my man. Retrieved on March 5, 2013 from, http://youtu.be/gtkU2ch0sRI. 

Greenwald, A. G., & Banaji, M. R. (1995). Implicit social cognition: Attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes. Psychological Review, 102, 4-27.

Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. K. L. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The Implicit Association Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1464-1480.

Nosek, B. A., Greenwald, A. G., & Banaji, M. R. (2005). Understanding and using the Implicit Association Test: II. Method variables and construct validity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 166–180.