Implicit Association Test: Separating Transsituationally Stable and Variable Components of Attitudes toward Gay Men

Abstract

Research ArticlesImplicit Association Test: Separating Transsituationally Stable and Variable Components of Attitudes toward Gay MenMelanie C. Steffens and Axel BuchnerMelanie C. Steffens University of Trier, Germany Search for more papers by this author and Axel Buchner Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:September 01, 2006https://doi.org/10.1027//1618-3169.50.1.33PDFView Full Text ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInReddit SectionsMoreAbstractImplicit attitudes are conceived of as formed in childhood, suggesting extreme stability. At the same time, it has been shown that implicit attitudes are influenced by situational factors, suggesting variability by the moment. In the present article, using structural equation modeling, we decomposed implicit attitudes towards gay men into a person factor and a situational factor. The Implicit Association Test (Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998), introduced as an instrument with which individual differences in implicit attitudes can be measured, was used. Measurement was repeated after one week (Experiment 1) or immediately (Experiment 2). Explicit attitudes towards gay men as assessed by way of questionnaires were positive and stable across situations. Implicit attitudes were relatively negative instead. Internal consistency of the implicit attitude assessment was exemplary. However, the within-situation consistency was accompanied by considerable unexplained between-situation variability. Consequently, it may not be adequate to interpret an individual implicit attitude measured at a given point in time as a person-related, trait-like factor.ReferencesBanse, R., Seise, J., Zerbes, N.(2001). Implicit attitudes towards homosexuality: Reliability, validity, and controllability of the IAT. 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weniger sozial kompetent als “Karrieremänner”?15 April 2015 | Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie, Vol. 34, No. 3 Volume 50Issue 1January 2003ISSN: 1618-3169eISSN: 2190-5142 InformationExperimental Psychology (2003), 50, pp. 33-48 https://doi.org/10.1027//1618-3169.50.1.33.© 2003Hogrefe & Huber PublishersKeywordsimplicit attitudesreliability of measurementImplicit Association Testattitudes toward gay menAcknowledgments:The article was written while the first author stayed at Yale University, supported by grant Ste 938/3-1 from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. Parts of this research were presented at the in Heidelberg, January 2000, sponsored by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and at the 109th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA, USA, 24-28 August, 2001. For help and suggestions in various stages of this research project, we would like to thank Roland Neumann as well as Steve Arendt, Alexander Besemer, Pascale David, Mirjam Halder, Melanie Loch, Nicola Meyer, Katrin Modabber, Stefanie Peters, and Fabian Schüßler.PDF download