Patterns and Personality Correlates of Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Toward Christians and Muslims

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We explored implicit and explicit attitudes toward Muslims and Christians within a predominantly Christian sample in the United States. Implicit attitudes were assessed with the Implicit Association Test (IAT), a computer program that recorded reaction times as participants categorized names (of Christians and Muslims) and adjectives (pleasant or unpleasant). Participants also completed self‐report measures of attitudes toward Christians and Muslims, and some personality constructs known to correlate with ethnocentrism (i.e., right‐wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, impression management, religious fundamentalism, intrinsic‐extrinsic‐quest religious orientations). Consistent with social identity theory, participants' self‐reported attitudes toward Christians were more positive than their self‐reported attitudes toward Muslims. Participants also displayed moderate implicit preference for Christians relative to Muslims. This IAT effect could also be interpreted as implicit prejudice toward Muslims relative to Christians. A slight positive correlation between implicit and explicit attitudes was found. As self‐reported anti‐Arab racism, social dominance orientation, right‐wing authoritarianism, and religious fundamentalism increased, self‐reported attitudes toward Muslims became more negative. The same personality variables were associated with more positive attitudes toward Christians relative to Muslims on the self‐report level, but not the implicit level.