Implicit Association Test Scores Research Articles

Decoupling the Conflicting Evaluative Meanings in Automatically Activated Race-Based Associations.

Implicit measures of attitudes have classically focused on the association between a social group and generalized valence, but debate exists surrounding how these associations arise and what they can tell us about beliefs and attitudes. Here, we suggest that representations of oppression, which relate positively to implicitly measured prejudice but negatively to explicitly measured prejudice, can serve to decrease the predictive validity of implicit measures through statistical suppression. We had participants complete a Black-White implicit association test (IAT) and an IAT measuring representations of oppression, and find that oppression-related representations statistically suppress the relation between IAT scores and explicit attitudes, such that accounting for these representations increases the total amount of variance explained by implicit measures. We discuss the implications of this work both for practical matters around use of the IAT and for theoretical debates on the conceptualization of valence in implicit attitudes.

Examining the Effects of Gender Transfer in Virtual Reality on Implicit Gender Bias.

To investigate the effect of gender transfer in virtual reality on implicit gender bias. Gender bias is a type of discrimination based on gender, which can lead to increased self-doubt and decreased self-esteem. Sexual harassment is a hostile form of gender bias that can cause anxiety, depression, and significant mental health issues. Virtual reality (VR) has been employed to help make people become aware of their biases and change their attitudes regarding gender, race, and age. Forty participants were embodied in avatars of different genders and experienced sexual harassment scenarios in VR. A gender Implicit Association Test (IAT) was administered before and after the experience. There was a statistically significant main effect of participant gender (F (1,36) = 10.67, p = .002, partial η2 = .23) on ΔIAT, where males and females reported a decrease (M = -.12, SD = .24) and an increase (M = .10, SD = .25) in IAT scores, respectively. A statistically significant two-way interaction between gender transfer and participant gender was revealed (F (1,36) = 6.32, p = .02, partial η2 = .15). There was a significant simple effect of gender transfer for male participants (F (1,36) = 8.70, p = .006, partial η2 = .19). Implicit gender bias can be modified, at least temporarily, through embodiment in VR. Gender transfer through embodiment while encountering different sexual harassment scenarios helped reduce implicit gender bias. There was a tendency for individuals to increase bias for the gender of the avatar in which they embodied. The current research provided promising evidence that a virtual environment system may be used as a potential training tool to improve implicit gender bias.

An alternative paradigm for assessing attitudes in virtual reality — Interpersonal distance paradigm: Taking weight stigma as an example

Immersive virtual technology has been widely used to modulate sociocognitive processes, such as changing individuals’ implicit attitudes towards specific groups. As to measure the effect, the implicit association test (IAT) is the most used one. However, IAT itself is controversial for its construct validity and commonly requires participants to quit virtual environments (VEs) to complete. Here, we propose an alternative paradigm, the “interpersonal distance paradigm”, which measures attitudes using interpersonal distance and can be conducted in VEs. We conducted a user study measuring weight stigma to compare the effectiveness of the interpersonal distance paradigm with two classical paradigms: the questionnaire and IAT. Results revealed a floor effect in the questionnaire method and no significant correlation between the two classic paradigms. The measurement of interpersonal distance showed a weak positive correlation with the questionnaire score, but not with IAT score. In future research, the results of more measurement methods should be combined to obtain more accurate results to better evaluate this new paradigm’s validity. The accurate results can help quantify the effects of the programs aiming at reducing weight stigma.

Estimating Implicit and Explicit Gender Leadership Bias among Primary Healthcare Professionals in Saudi Arabia.

(1) Background: Women have become more influential and powerful; however, implicit bias continues to plague organizations when it comes to women in leadership positions. This study examines the implicit and explicit biases that favor men as leaders among Saudi Arabian primary healthcare professionals. (2) Methods: A secure, web-based survey was administered to primary healthcare professionals. The survey included questions about leadership as well as an Implicit Association Test (IAT) for implicit gender bias. (3) Results: Out of 690 eligible, 448 respondents completed the survey, representing a response rate of 65%. Male residents had a mean IAT score of 0.27 (SD 0.31) and females 0.12 (SD 0.29), both favoring males in leadership roles, and the difference was statistically significant. There was a significant association between gender and gender IAT. In the explicit bias, gender, education, gender of the current manager, and being manager were associated with the gender explicit bias. Explicit bias favoring males in leadership roles was associated with increased implicit bias favoring males in leadership roles. (4) Conclusions: This study found that explicit and implicit gender bias is present among primary healthcare professionals favoring men in leadership positions held by both men and women.

Race and Socioeconomic Bias in Pediatric Cardiac Transplantation

BackgroundTo date, no studies evaluated implicit bias among clinicians caring for children with advanced heart failure. ObjectivesThis study aims to evaluate implicit racial and socioeconomic bias among pediatric heart transplant clinicians. MethodsA cross-sectional survey of transplant clinicians from the Pediatric Heart Transplant Society was conducted between June and August 2021. The survey consisted of demographic questions along with explicit and validated race and socioeconomic status (SES) implicit association tests (IATs). Implicit and explicit biases among survey group members were studied and associations were tested between implicit and explicit measures. ResultsOf 500 members, 91 (18.2%) individuals completed the race IAT and 70 (14%) completed the SES IAT. Race IAT scores indicated moderate levels of implicit bias (mean = 0.33, d = 0.76; P < 0.001; ie, preference for White individuals). SES IAT scores indicated strong implicit bias (mean = 0.52, d = 1.53; P < 0.001; ie, preference for people from upper SES). There were weak levels of explicit race and wealth bias. There was a strong level of explicit education bias (mean = 5.22, d = 1.19; P < 0.001; ie, preference for educated people). There were nonsignificant correlations between the race and the SES IAT and explicit measures (P > 0.05 for all). ConclusionsAs observed across other health care disciplines, among a group of pediatric heart transplant clinicians, there is an implicit preference for individuals who are White and from higher SES, and an explicit preference for educated people. Future studies should evaluate how implicit biases affect clinician behavior and assess the impact of efforts to reduce such biases.

Sexual Orientation and Racial Bias in Relation to Medical Specialty

ABSTRACT Physician explicit and implicit biases involving race and sexual orientation (SO) affect patient and provider experiences in healthcare settings. An anonymous survey was disseminated nationally to graduating medical students, residents, and practicing physicians to evaluate SO and racial biases across medical specialties. SO explicit and implicit bias were measured with the Attitudes toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale, short form (ATLG-S) and Gay-Straight Implicit Association Test (IAT). Racial explicit and implicit bias were measured with the Quick Discrimination Index (QDI) and the Black-White IAT. Medical specialty was associated with racial explicit bias and specialty prestige with Black-White IAT score. Medical specialty and specialty prestige were not associated with SO bias. Female sex, sexual and gender minority (SGM) identity, and decreased religiosity were associated with reduced SO and racial bias. Provider race was associated with racial implicit and explicit bias.

Heartache or Bellyache? Epigastric Pain, Communication Skills, and Implicit Bias: Can We Uncover an Association in the Simulation Lab?

Purpose: Implicit bias contributes to health disparities through physician communication behaviors. 1 Research in clinical encounters suggests certain nonverbal and verbal communication is associated with racial implicit bias. 2 To date, there are no published simulations that can be used for teaching or assessment purposes in implicit bias recognition and management (IBRM). We developed a high-fidelity simulation 3 and adapted existing checklists and global rating scales to include communication behaviors known to be associated with racial implicit bias. 2 Approach: This case involved a 52-year-old man presenting to the urgent care center with nausea, vomiting, and epigastric pain. Epigastric pain was chosen as the clinical presentation given the demonstrated racial disparities in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). 4 Cognitive stressors included time constraints, clinical ambiguity (epigastric pain, a normal EKG, asymptomatic on exam), and an interruption from a standardized nurse. We have complete data for N = 15 physician volunteers (PV) over 3 pilots. We pursued an exploratory approach investigating the associations between racial implicit bias as measured on race and race-compliance implicit association tests (IAT) and communication skills of internal/family medicine PVs. We explored the associations between IATs and communication skills of internal/family medicine PV as rated by a highly trained SP and monitor. For each communication domain and subdomain, the mean score was computed comparing the scores on SPs that were Black vs White. Communication checklist items were rated on a 3-point scale, while the entrustment items were rated on a 4-point scale. A mean score was then computed for reach domain and subdomain, and linear regression was conducted with race of the SP and race of the Physician (model 1) as independent variables, followed by race IAT (model 2). Correlation analysis was also conducted to determine if significant relationship existed between the domain/subdomain scores and IAT scores. Outcomes: Mean IAT scores for PVs were in the neutral range. A total of 11 Black SPs/monitors and 9 White SPs/monitors rated physician skills. A significant negative relationship was found between “Elicits all patient’s concerns” item from information gathering with race IAT (r = −0.68, P = .01) and compliance IAT (r = −0.72, r = 0.02). A significant main effect was found on PV race and overall mean global entrustment scores (P = .01), with non-Black physicians receiving a higher score (m = 2.43, SD = 0.35) than Black physicians (m = 1.82, SD = 0.48) when race IAT was not included (model 1). When race IAT was included, no significant differences were found. No other significant differences were found in the other competencies. Significance: We developed a high-fidelity simulation and accompanying checklists and global rating scales that were able to elicit variability in communication skills scores among practicing PVs. A significant difference was found between the Black and non-Black physicians in their overall global entrustment scores when race IAT was not controlled for. When we controlled for race IAT scores (implicit bias impact), differences were no longer present suggesting the impact of implicit bias can be measured through the use of this case and global entrustment measures rather than communication competencies. This study suggests the use of high-fidelity simulations over vignettes may be better in understanding the impact of implicit bias in the patient experience. Medical educators implementing curricula in IBRM infrequently provide learners opportunities for skill development and practice, or assessment of those skills. 5 Our simulation provides a model for skill development in IBRM as it relates to ACS. In addition, given the racial disparities treatment decisions in ACS, this simulation is timely and relevant both for its assessment of communication behaviors associated with IBRM and for its clinical content. Next steps include finalizing simulations with community member input, revisions as informed by data analysis, and assessing medical decision making.

Individual Differences in Implicit Bias Can Be Measured Reliably by Administering the Same Implicit Association Test Multiple Times.

The use of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) as a measure of individual differences is stymied by insufficient test-retest reliability for assessing trait-level constructs. We assess the degree to which the IAT measures individual differences and test a method to improve its validity as a "trait" measure: aggregating across IATs. Across three studies, participants (total n = 960) completed multiple IATs in the same session or across multiple sessions. Using latent-variable models, we found that half of the variance in IAT scores reflects individual differences. Aggregating across multiple IATs approximately doubled the variance explained with explicit measures compared with a single IAT D-score. These findings show that IAT scores contain considerable noise and that a single IAT is inadequate to estimate trait bias. However, aggregation across multiple administrations can correct this and better estimate individual differences in implicit attitudes.

Biases left unattended: People are surprised at racial bias feedback until they pay attention to their biased reactions

Why are people surprised at racial bias feedback, such as test results from Implicit Association Tests (IATs), even though they can predict their IAT racial bias scores prospectively? The present research tested three hypotheses: People are surprised at racial bias feedback due to (1) the feedback wording, (2) implicit evaluations often being preconscious and unattended, or because (3) pretending to be surprised at racial bias feedback is socially desirable. One pilot, four preregistered studies, and a mini-meta-analysis supported hypothesis (2): Although racial biases such as those reflected on IAT scores are observable, people rarely pay attention to them. Specifically, predicting IAT results (Studies 2-4b) and encouragement to pay attention to one's biased reactions before IAT completion (Study 3) reduced surprise, independent of explanation of “implicit bias” (Study 4b). Contradicting the social-desirability hypothesis (3), neither encouragement to admit to bias in the form of abstract predictions (Study 3), nor non-threatening explanations of implicit bias (Study 4b), reduced surprise in the absence of encouragement to pay attention to one's own biases. Speaking against hypothesis (1), surprise was independent of feedback severity (Studies 1–3); and the prediction effect was mediated by recognition of bias, but not correspondence of predictions and feedback (Study 3). These studies suggest that surprise is a consequence of the preconscious nature of automatic social cognitions: People may be motivated to keep consciously accessible racial biases out of awareness. Implications for theories of implicit social cognition and the generality of these effects beyond research on implicit bias are discussed.

Implicit Racial Bias in Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery.

Racial and ethnic minority patients continue to experience disparities in health care. It is important to understand provider-level factors that may contribute to these inequities. This study aims to evaluate the presence of implicit racial bias among pediatric orthopaedic surgeons and determine the relationship between bias and clinical decision making. A web-based survey was distributed to 415 pediatric orthopaedic surgeons. One section measured for potential implicit racial bias using a child-race implicit association test (IAT). IAT scores were compared with US physicians and the US general population using publicly available data. Another section consisted of clinical vignettes with associated questions. For each vignette, surgeons were randomly assigned a single race-version, White or Black. Vignette questions were grouped into an opioid recommendation, management decision, or patient perception category for analysis based on subject tested. Vignette answers from surgeons with IAT scores that were concordant with their randomized vignette race-version (ie, surgeon with pro-White score assigned White vignette version) were compared with those that were discordant. IAT results were obtained from 119 surveyed surgeons (29% response rate). Overall, respondents showed a minor pro-White implicit bias ( P <0.001). Implicit bias of any strength toward either race was present among 103/119 (87%) surgeons. The proportion of pediatric orthopaedic surgeons with a strong pro-White implicit bias (29%) was greater than that of US physicians overall (21%, P =0.032) and the US general population (19%, P =0.004). No differences were found in overall opioid recommendations, management decisions, or patient perceptions between concordant and discordant groups. Most of the pediatric orthopaedic surgeons surveyed demonstrated implicit racial bias on IAT testing, with a large proportion demonstrating strong pro-White bias. Despite an association between implicit bias and clinical decision making in the literature, this study observed no evidence that implicit racial bias affected the management of pediatric fractures. Level IV.

The role of attitude features in the reliability of IAT scores

Researchers commonly use the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to assess the automatic attitudes of individuals and groups. Although contended by some, the IAT is used in large part due to its psychometric properties, which are generally superior relative to most other measures of automatic cognition. Much focus has therefore been dedicated to the IAT's psychometric properties (particularly its internal consistency). However, this work has focused near-exclusively on moderators based on the procedural features of the IAT itself, and little on the varying properties of the construct under investigation within the measure. This is despite the fact that attitude features have already been demonstrated to influence explicit attitude measures. Here, we intend to investigate whether different attitude features can effectively predict the internal consistency of IAT scores using a large-scale IAT dataset (lowest N = 30,161, highest N = 30,502). We find that five of six attitude features (personal importance, degree of thinking, certainty, self-concept, and most strongly polarity) are positively related to the reliability of the IAT. Our findings have significant implications for the way in which the IAT's reliability has been conceived.

Does Information about Bias Attenuate Selective Exposure? The Effects of Implicit Bias Feedback on the Selection of Outgroup-Rich News

AbstractPeople’s news diets are shaped by a diverse set of selection biases that may be unconscious in nature. This study investigates whether providing individuals with information about such unconscious biases attenuates selective exposure. More specifically, in two selective-exposure experiments among Dutch ingroup members focusing on ethnic (N = 286) and religious (N = 277) minorities, we expose individuals to their unconscious prejudices as measured by the Implicit Association Test (IAT) before documenting their news-selection patterns. Findings indicate that the effectiveness of this awareness-inducing strategy depends upon existing levels of implicit and explicit prejudice and overly expressed acceptance of the IAT scores. This implies that raising awareness of implicit prejudice works as an effective strategy for fighting biased news selection for some, but may backfire for others, and should therefore only be implemented with caution and attention for explicit considerations.

A racial bias test with tertiary cancer centre employees: why anti-racist measures are required for First Nations Australians cancer care equity.

Objective To examine implicit bias in employees at a cancer centre using an Australian race (Aboriginal-white) Implicit Association Test (IAT), in an attempt to understand a potential factor for inequitable outcomes of First Nations Australians cancer patients. Methods All employees at an Australian cancer centre were invited to take part in a web-based, cross-sectional study using an Australian race IAT. The results were analysed using Welch t-tests, linear regression and ANOVA. Results Overall, 538/2871 participants (19%) completed the IAT between January and June 2020. The mean IAT was 0.147 (s.d. 0.43, P < 0.001, 95% CI 0.11-0.18), and 60% had a preference for white over First Nations Australians. There was no significant mean difference in IAT scores between sub-groups of gender, age or clinical/non-clinical employees. 21% of employees (95% CI 17.65-24.53) had moderate to strong preference for white over First Nations Australians, compared to 7.1% with moderate to strong preference for First Nations over white Australians (95% CI 5.01-9.09). Conclusions Inequitable cancer survival for First Nations patients has been well established and cancer is now the leading cause of mortality. This paper documents the presence of racial bias in employees at one cancer centre. We argue that this cannot be understood outside the history of colonialism and its effects on First Nations Australians, healthcare workers and our society. Further research is required to evaluate measures of racism, its effect on health care, and how to eliminate it.

Regional Implicit Bias Does Not Account for Racial Disparity in Total Joint Arthroplasty Utilization.

Racial disparities surrounding the utilization of total hip and total knee arthroplasty (THA, TKA) are well documented. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a validated tool used to measure implicit and explicit bias. The purpose of this study is to evaluate if variations in IAT scores by geographical region in the United States (US) correspond with regional variations in THA and TKA utilization by blacks compared to whites. Data from the US Census and National Inpatient Sample from 2012 to 2014 were used to calculate THA and TKA utilization rates among Medicare-aged blacks and whites. Data were aggregated by US Census Bureau Division. Regional implicit bias was assessed by calculating a weighted average of IAT scores for each division. Across all geographic regions and years, the surveyed population demonstrated an implicit bias favoring whites over blacks. The population adjusted ratio of white-to-black utilization of THA and TKA by geographic division varied between 0.86-1.85 and 0.87-2.01, respectively. The difference in utilization between geographic divisions reached statistical significance (P < .001). No correlation was found between the IAT scores and race-specific utilization ratios among geographic divisions. Implicit bias as measured by regional IAT did not reflect THA and TKA utilization disparities. The racial disparity in utilization of THA and TKA significantly varied between divisions. The observed disparity was greater in divisions with a relatively higher proportion of blacks. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the impact of implicit bias on utilization of THA and TKA.

Abstract 9313: Clinician Training, Implicit Bias, and Self-Efficacy in Treating African American Patients: A Substudy of the HYpertension and VALUEs Trial

Background: Implicit bias among clinicians is believed to contribute to health disparities. Clinicians have racial biases comparable to others in society, leading to calls for trainings in cultural awareness. However, whether such trainings improve clinician self-efficacy or reduce bias is not well known. We assessed the relationships between prior cultural awareness training, perceived efficacy in caring for African American patients, and implicit race bias. Methods: As part of a larger trial, a sample of primary care clinicians (PCPs) completed a race implicit association test (IAT) and survey regarding prior training in cultural awareness, and perceived efficacy in caring for African American patients (i.e., preparation to care for, and skill in developing positive relationships and overcoming bias). IAT d-scores measure racial implicit bias with scores &gt;+0.15 indicating “pro-White” race bias, scores &lt;-0.15 indicating “pro-Black”race bias and scores between -0.15 to +0.15 indicating “no bias”. Groups were compared using chi-squared tests for categorical variables and t-tests for continuous variables Results: Among 137 PCPs (63% female, 61% White, 51% ≤10 years in practice), 65% showed implicit pro-White race bias (mean IAT d-score = 0.34 (SD 0.44)) and 79% reported prior training in cultural awareness. Though 67% of participants felt “very prepared” to care for and 59% felt “very skilled” in developing a positive relationship with African American patients, only 26% felt “very skilled” in overcoming implicit racial bias. Prior training in cultural awareness was not associated with perceived efficacy in caring for African American patients (all p &gt;0.05). IAT scores were similar between clinicians who had training in cultural awareness and those without prior training (Mean(SD)=0.32(0.47) vs. 0.42(0.35), p=0.32). Conclusions: In this sample of PCPs, prior cultural awareness training was not associated with either implicit bias or preceived efficacy in caring for African American patients. This study suggests that cultural awareness trainings may need to be further developed and expanded to target implicit bias and improve clinician self-efficacy.

Early EEG responses to pre-electoral survey items reflect political attitudes and predict voting behavior

Self-reports are conventionally used to measure political preferences, yet individuals may be unable or unwilling to report their political attitudes. Here, in 69 participants we compared implicit and explicit methods of political attitude assessment and focused our investigation on populist attitudes. Ahead of the 2019 European Parliament election, we recorded electroencephalography (EEG) from future voters while they completed a survey that measured levels of agreement on different political issues. An Implicit Association Test (IAT) was administered at the end of the recording session. Neural signals differed as a function of future vote for a populist or mainstream party and of whether survey items expressed populist or non-populist views. The combination of EEG responses and self-reported preferences predicted electoral choice better than traditional socio-demographic and ideological variables, while IAT scores were not a significant predictor. These findings suggest that measurements of brain activity can refine the assessment of socio-political attitudes, even when those attitudes are not based on traditional ideological divides.

Nature vs. Nurture in Precision Education: Insights of Parents and the Public

Background: The philosophical debate about the roles of nature versus nurture in human flourishing is not new. But the rise of precision education—a growing field of research that encourages the use of genetic data to inform educational trajectory and interventions to better meet student needs—has renewed historical and ethical concerns. A major worry is that “genetic hype” may skew public perceptions toward a deterministic perception of the child’s educational trajectory, regardless of the child’s capacities, and underestimation of environmental factors affecting educational outcomes. We tested this hypothesis with parents and adults from the general public in the US. Methods: A newly developed computerized implicit association test (IAT) to assess automatic associations between genetics or environments and student behaviors that are associated with educational achievement was administered to samples of parents of children below 21 years old (n = 450) and adults from the general public (n = 419). The samples were representative of the adult US population and adjusted to oversample Black/African American participants. An overall D score for participants’ IATs (range: [-2, 2]) was calculated on the basis of the speed of participants’ responses. Results: The mean IAT score for both samples indicated stronger association between the quality of being a good student and environment rather than genetics (parents: mean=-0.146, t = -6.56, p < 0.001; general public: mean = -0.249, t = -9.45, p < 0.0001). Younger participants from the general public showed a stronger association between genetics and educational success than middle-aged participants (β = -0.301, p = 0.006). Conclusion: The views of parents and the general public on behavioral genetics and education are complex but call for investment in creating educational environments that are supportive of student success. Future research is needed to understand differences across age groups and to explore views of other stakeholders involved in determining children’s educational trajectories about the roles of nature versus nurture in precision education.

Cognitive Control and the Implicit Association Test: A Replication of Siegel, Dougherty, and Huber (2012)

The implicit association test (IAT) is widely used to measure evaluative associations towards groups or the self but is influenced by other traits. Siegel, Dougherty, and Huber (2012, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology) found that manipulating cognitive control via false feedback (Study 3) changed the degree to which the IAT was related to cognitive control versus evaluative associations. We conducted two replications of this study and a mini meta-analysis. Null-hypothesis tests, meta-analysis, and a small telescope approach demonstrated weak to no support for the original hypotheses. We conclude that the original findings are unreliable and that both the original study and our replications do not provide evidence that manipulating cognitive control affects IAT scores.

Predicting suicidal behavior by implicit associations with death? Examination of the death IAT in two inpatient samples of differing suicide risk.

Assessment of implicit self-associations with death, measured by a death Implicit Association Test (IAT), has shown promise for the prediction of suicide risk. The present study examined whether the performance on the death IAT is associated with lifetime, recent, or future suicide attempt status as well as self-report measures of suicide risk factors (e.g., perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness) in two inpatient samples with low versus high severity of suicidality. Furthermore, we investigated whether explicit suicidal ideation and implicit associations with death predict recent and future suicide attempt status. Seventy-one depressed inpatients with recent/lifetime suicidal ideation (first sample) as well as 226 inpatients with a recent suicide attempt or a severe suicidal crisis (second sample) were interviewed on lifetime suicidal ideation and behavior, completed self-report measures (i.e., suicidal ideation, thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness), and conducted the death IAT. The second sample was also interviewed and completed self-report measures longitudinally, 6, 9, and 12 months later. The IAT was conducted twice in this sample, at the beginning of the assessment (T₀) as well as 12 months later (T₃). Implicit associations with death neither differ between lifetime suicide ideators, single attempters, and multiple attempters, nor between recent and future nonattempters and attempters. IAT scores were unrelated to other suicide risk factors. Neither the IAT scores nor the interaction of IAT scores and explicitly stated suicidal ideation was predictive of recent or future suicide attempts. The present study points to a limited utility of the death IAT for the prediction of suicide risk. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Repeated measurement of implicit self-associations in clinical depression: Psychometric, neural, and computational properties.

Implicit self-associations are theorized to be rigidly and excessively negative in affective disorders like depression. Such information processing patterns may be useful as an approach to parsing heterogeneous etiologies, substrates, and treatment outcomes within the broad syndrome of depression. However, there is a lack of sufficient data on the psychometric, neural, and computational substrates of Implicit Association Test (IAT) performance in patient populations. In a treatment-seeking, clinically depressed sample (n = 122), we administered five variants of the IAT-a dominant paradigm used in hundreds of studies of implicit cognition to date-at two repeated sessions (outside and inside a functional MRI scanner). We examined reliability, clinical correlates, and neural and computational substrates of IAT performance. IAT scores showed adequate (.67-.81) split-half reliability and convergent validity with one another and with relevant explicit symptom measures. Test-retest correlations (in vs. outside the functional MRI scanner) were present but modest (.15-.55). In depressed patients, on average, negative implicit self-representations appeared to be weaker or less efficiently processed relative to positive self-representations; elicited greater recruitment of frontoparietal task network regions; and, according to computational modeling of trial-by-trial data, were driven primarily by differential efficiency of information accumulation for negative and positive attributes. Greater degree of discrepancy between implicit and explicit self-worth predicted depression severity. Overall, these IATs show potential utility in understanding heterogeneous substrates of depression but leave substantial room for improvement. The observed clinical, neural, and computational correlates of implicit self-associations offer novel insights into a simple computer-administered task in a clinical population and point toward heterogeneous depression mechanisms and treatment targets. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).