When Implicitly and Explicitly Measured Racial Attitudes Align: The Roles of Social Desirability and Thoughtful Responding

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Using reasoning derived from the MODE model of attitude-behavior relations (Olson & Fazio, 2009), two experiments investigated the roles different instructional sets play in the relationship between implicit and explicit measures of racial prejudice. In Experiment 1, participants implored to be honest evidenced greater correspondence between an Implicit Association Test and explicit measures of prejudice, suggesting that motivation to do other than what one's automatic response to an object implies reduces implicit–explicit correspondence. Findings from Experiment 2 suggest that it is a general motive to think carefully about one's explicit responses, and not social desirability concerns, that reduces the correspondence between implicit and explicit measures of prejudice.