Substance use is sustained partly through implicit associations toward drugs - i.e. automatic positive attitudes and motivational responses toward drug-related cues. Such implicit associations may be inferred by behavioral measures that capture the relative ease, speed, or priming of those associations. However, implicit opioid associations in patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) remain underexplored, and it is unknown whether mindfulness-based interventions such as Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) can modify implicit associations to support recovery. We conducted secondary analyses of data from a clinical trial of adults with OUD (N=154), randomized to either methadone treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU plus MORE. Participants completed an opioid implicit association test (IAT) at baseline. Days of opioid use were tracked over 16weeks. Data were analyzed using logistic and zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regressions to examine the impact of baseline IAT scores on future opioid use and MORE's moderating effect. In the TAU group, each 1-unit increase in IAT D score was associated with a 216% increase in the odds of opioid use (OR=3.16, p=0.049). However, in the MORE group, IAT scores were not significantly associated with future opioid use (OR=0.58, p=0.57). ZINB analysis revealed that each 1-unit increase in IAT D score predicted 0.96 fewer days of use in MORE relative to TAU (B=-1.25; SE=0.58; p=0.030). Implicit attitudes toward opioids predicted higher opioid use among individuals receiving methadone. However, MORE attenuated this relationship and may counteract automatic cognitive biases that sustain opioid use.

A subtle association raising bigger questions: Implicit and explicit ageism in the Dutch age IAT.

The impact of eyes on attributions of agency and experience in humanoid robots.

Sip, savor, but don't spill: mindfulness enhances alcohol enjoyment without boosting consumption.

ABSTRACT With the expanding scale of distributed energy access, the complexity of distribution network operation increases significantly, and the traditional evaluation methods relying on experience and static rules are difficult to meet the demands of high precision, strong interpretation and dynamic optimisation. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive evaluation model for intelligent distribution networks that integrates knowledge graph reasoning and graph neural network optimisation. The model constructs a multi-source knowledge graph covering structured, semi-structured and unstructured data, integrates graph convolution and attention mechanism to realise higher-order feature extraction and implicit association mining, and enhances inference transparency through path weight-driven subgraph recommendation. Experimental results show that the method outperforms existing methods in terms of knowledge inference accuracy, comprehensive evaluation accuracy of operating state, and scheduling optimisation performance, especially in large-scale topology to effectively reduce power consumption and improve operational stability. The study verifies the efficiency and practicability of the model in smart grid operation and management, and provides new ideas for intelligent dispatch and decision support.

ABSTRACT Previous research has indicated that exposure to counter-stereotypical fathers may foster more egalitarian implicit gender attitudes. However, these effects have been limited to certain genders and age groups. This study examined whether exposure to an ordinary father who took one year of childcare leave, presented as a vivid and evocative scenario, could equalise implicit associations between ‘father’ and ‘work’ and between ‘mother’ and ‘home’. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) was administered to Japanese adults, with participants randomly assigned to either a counter-stereotypical or control group based on gender and age. The sample comprised 262 respondents (132 men and 130 women) in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. The results revealed that exposure to counter-stereotypical fathers as a vivid and evocative scenario made Japanese implicit attitudes more egalitarian. Future research should further explore the relationship between fathers taking childcare leave and the implicit gender attitudes of both fathers and their colleagues.

Abstract Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) can transport people to new, artificially generated environments and situations that are otherwise difficult to reproduce due to logistical and ethical constraints. Crucially, IVR has proven extremely effective in shaping attitudes and promoting desirable outcomes. Leveraging this feature, we utilized IVR to counteract the influence of mafias, one of the most detrimental phenomena in our society, by strengthening participants’ opposing attitudes and exploring their behavioral intentions. In a between-subject design study, 100 participants were exposed to either a scenario depicting typical mafia-related activities (experimental condition) or a scenario showing non-mafia-related crime (control condition). We recorded participants’ explicit and implicit attitudes one week before and immediately after the IVR exposure. Explicit attitudes were measured using the Attitudes towards Italian Mafias Scale, implicit attitudes with an ad-hoc Single Category Implicit Association Test (SC-IAT), and behavioral intentions by asking participants whether they would intervene, report, and testify against the crime witnessed in the virtual scenario. Participants in the experimental condition displayed more negative explicit attitudes towards mafias after experiencing the virtual scenario. However, they were also less certain about testifying against the crime, reflecting the well-known phenomenon of omertà, or the law of silence. Our findings confirm IVR as a valuable tool for changing attitudes by providing experiences that individuals might not otherwise encounter. This paves the way for exploring more sophisticated strategies to encourage individual and collective anti-mafia actions.

This study investigates how cognitive style (CS)—field-dependent (FD) versus field-independent (FI)—moderates the relationship between implicit cultural attitudes and English writing performance (EWP) among Chinese learners of English. The purpose was to explore how individual cognitive and affective factors interact to shape second language (L2) writing development, addressing a gap in research that often treats these dimensions separately. A total of 85 ESL/EFL learners completed three tasks: (1) the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) to identify FD/FI cognitive styles, (2) an Implicit Association Test (IAT) measuring preferences toward sociocultural information (SCI) and written corrective feedback (WCF), and (3) an AI-assessed academic writing task to evaluate EWP. Correlational analyses examined relationships among the variables, and moderation analyses tested whether CS influenced the effect of implicit attitudes on writing outcomes. Results showed that implicit cultural attitudes significantly predicted EWP, while CS alone did not directly affect writing performance. However, CS moderated the relationship: FD learners benefitted most when their implicit preference favoured SCI, whereas FI learners displayed consistent performance regardless of preference. These findings highlight the interplay between cognition and culture in shaping L2 writing. Pedagogical implications suggest tailoring writing instruction to learners’ implicit attitudes and cognitive profiles.

ABSTRACT The inclusive education paradigm aims to provide every student equal-learning opportunities at school. However, numerous barriers remain. Among these, teachers’ beliefs about students with disabilities constitute a key obstacle. Research has shown that individuals with disabilities, and students with disabilities in particular, are often perceived as less competent compared to others. This finding has been obtained using various paradigms, most often involving lay participants. The present study, based on a large, nationwide sample with post-stratification checks, seeks to replicate these results in the overlooked context of France. To this end, educators completed two complementary measures: a self-reported questionnaire and an Implicit Association Test, both designed to assess the perceived or associated competence of students and people with disabilities, respectively. Results from both measures confirmed that incompetence is always more strongly associated with disability. The findings are discussed with regard to the necessity – and the potential risks – of emphasising the diversity of this minority group (e.g. in teachers’ training) to reduce stigmatisation and enable students with disabilities to fully benefit from their educational journey.

Negative attitudes toward mental illness hinder both social integration and the effectiveness of health care services. Nursing students should overcome these biases, cultivate empathy, and adopt a patient-centered approach through clinical experience and structured education. This study explores how psychiatric nursing students' implicit associations, discriminatory attitudes, and empathy skills are influenced by exposure to documentaries and psychiatric interviews. A single-center, single-blind, randomized controlled trial was conducted in the nursing department of a university located in Sakarya, Türkiye. The study involved 44 third-year nursing students (experimental group = 22; control group = 22). The Implicit Association Test and the Attitudes Toward Mental Patients Scale were used to assess students' implicit biases and attitudes, while the Jefferson Scale of Empathy measured their level of empathy. Although the implicit association categories changed significantly within both groups, there was no significant difference in change between the groups. Significant effects were found for group (F = 7.37, P = .01, ηp² = 0.15), time (F = 26.46, P < .001, ηp² = 0.39), and the group × time interaction (F = 7.08, P = .01, ηp² = 0.14) on attitude scores. However, no significant effects were observed in empathy scores with respect to group, time, or the group × time interaction. Documentaries containing patient narratives and psychiatric interviews improved attitudes toward individuals with mental illness and positively influenced implicit associations; however, they did not lead to a significant change in empathy levels. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT06808893.

Implicit bias among service providers has a role in how clients receive and experience care within healthcare organizations. There is minimal inquiry related to implicit bias within occupational therapy practice. This exploratory qualitative study was designed to explore the level of awareness of implicit bias among occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs). Nine OTPs self-selected and completed an Implicit Association Test (IAT) and then participated in a individual interviews or one small focus group. Four themes emerged: (1) most understand implicit bias, moving past acknowledgement is challenging but possible; (2) talking about implicit bias is not easy; (3) tenets of cultural humility can mitigate impacts of implicit bias; (4) education and trainings should be comprehensive. Addressing implicit bias is necessary to reduce disparities in care for minoritized populations. Management of implicit bias requires multiple strategies, based on readiness for change to reduce disparities in healthcare.

Antagonistic social identities are reflected in neurophysiological responses to implicit bias, yet empirical validation in real-life post-conflict contexts remains scarce. This cross-sectional study assessed neurocognitive responses to bias-related stimuli among 76 Colombian participants, including both victims and ex-combatants of the armed conflict. Using an Implicit Association Test combined with EEG recording and cluster-based permutation analysis, we examined group differences in event-related potentials. Results revealed differential activation patterns: a language-related N400 and an emotion-related Late Positive Potential (LPP), both showing distinct latencies and amplitudes between groups. Particularly, victims exhibited stronger LPP modulation and delayed mid-to-late components, suggesting heightened emotional processing and increased cognitive load in evaluating bias-laden content. These findings highlight how lived experiences of victimization—not merely exposure to violence—shape neurophysiological processing of intergroup bias. Our results underscore the relevance of implicit cognitive markers for informing psychosocial interventions in transitional justice and reconciliation settings.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-27449-0.

Unconscious bias refers to automatic, implicit attitudes or stereotypes that influence our understanding, decisions, and actions without our conscious awareness. It is recognised as a significant problem in healthcare contributing to disparities in treatment. To date it remains unclear how unconscious bias towards patients develops among health professionals. One hypothesis is that such bias is acquired during education, either through teaching content or by observing other health professionals interacting with patients and adopting their behaviour. We investigated whether health care students show an unconscious bias and whether there are indications that it develops during their professional education. We conducted a factorial survey experiment with bachelor's and master's students enrolled in various health professions' programmes. Unconscious bias was assessed using three written vignettes describing clinical situations involving patients. Participants were asked to evaluate their likelihood of helping immediately, expected patient adherence, and expected quality of the patient relationship. Vignette dimensions contained common sources of bias that were experimentally manipulated: gender, age, socio-economic status, migration status, diagnosis (physical or mental illness), and sexual orientation. Multivariable regression models were used to estimate the causal effects of patient characteristics on vignettes on students' responses. Additionally, an Implicit Association Test (IAT) on unconscious bias regarding homosexuality was used to measure implicit bias. Explicit attitudes were assessed via self-report. A total of 470 students (response rate 21.5%) participated. Vignette analysis showed no differences in stated helping intention, adherence expectations, or relationship assessments with regard to patient characteristics such as gender, age, socio-economic status, foreign name, sexual orientation or diagnosis. No systematic differences were observed for subgroups of participants such as year of study, programme type, prior work experience, or reported exposure to bias behaviour by health care staff. Similarly, IAT results indicated no overall bias towards homosexuality. We found no evidence of systematic unconscious bias among students' helping intentions, expected patient adherence, and expected patient relations across various patient characteristics. Comparisons across study years and programs provided no indication that such biases emerge or intensify during training. If replicated, these results would be encouraging, as it indicates an absence of unconscious bias in health care students.

Background/Objectives: Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents. Emotion dysregulation, impulsivity, and childhood trauma are key factors underlying Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors (SITB), yet reliable short-term predictors are limited, especially in at-risk clinical populations. This study prospectively examined the association between SITB and clinical (psychological pain, impulsivity, childhood trauma) and cognitive measures (Implicit Association Tests, IATs). Methods: A prospective, observational study was conducted in adolescents (12–17) admitted to a university hospital psychiatry unit following recent SITB. Participants completed the Death/Suicide IAT (D/S-IAT), Self-Injury IAT (SI-IAT), and standardized instruments including the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-SF). SITB recurrence was assessed at six months. Results: Within six months, 28.9% of 38 participants reported suicidal thoughts, 15.8% engaged in self-injury, and 2.6% attempted suicide. The SI-IAT showed a small but significant correlation with C-SSRS, whereas D/S-IAT showed none. Neither IAT predicted SITB recurrence. Higher levels of emotion dysregulation and impulsivity were significantly associated with SITB. Specific DERS dimensions—emotional rejection, interference, and confusion—predicted future SITB, highlighting emotional dysregulation as a vulnerability factor. Conclusions: In high-risk adolescents, psychological pain and impulsivity predicted SITB more reliably than IATs. Unlike adult populations, explicit measures outperform implicit ones in suicide risk prediction. These findings emphasize emotion dysregulation as a key clinical construct that may intensify psychological pain and contribute to suicidal vulnerability.

Close physical interactions with captive wildlife, such as tiger petting or koala cuddling, are popular tourist attractions but raise significant concerns about animal welfare. Previous research has relied primarily on explicit self-reports, which may be influenced by social desirability and bias. This study addresses these limitations by comparing implicit and explicit attitudes toward close wildlife interactions among 1,071 participants in Germany and the UK, employing a Single-Category Implicit Association Test (SC-IAT) and a structured questionnaire. The results show that a negatively framed warning message highlighting animal welfare issues significantly reduced favorable attitudes on both explicit and implicit measures, with a particularly strong effect among women. The warning message had a greater impact on implicit (unconscious) attitudes than on explicit attitudes, indicating that travelers may not be fully aware of their underlying beliefs. Additionally, the Animal Attitude Scale was negatively correlated with both attitude measures, suggesting that greater concern for animal welfare is associated with less favorable views of close wildlife interactions. These findings underscore the value of implicit attitude measurement in tourism research and support the use of targeted warning messages and awareness campaigns to discourage participation in harmful wildlife attractions.

Using implicit psychological mechanisms to predict student success in digital higher education.

Children's perceptions of the health of packaged food: Preferences differ according to packaging attributes and temperamental impulsivity.

Examining the effects of implicit and internalized weight bias on physical activity cognitions for women in larger bodies.

Impact of implicit biases on consumer behavioural intention towards meat alternative proteins.

Blinding in pediatric residency recruitment and the influence of implicit biases have not been formally studied. This study examined whether blinding to race and/or gender influences the selection of candidates for pediatric residency interviews and assessed the role of respondent implicit bias. An electronic survey was sent to all U.S. pediatric residency program directors in spring 2023. Nonresponders were sent weekly reminders for 5 weeks (survey remained open for 6 weeks). Respondents rated 5 fictitious applicants, each randomly assigned a gender (male, female, or blinded) and race (Black, White, or blinded), and completed an Implicit Association Test (IAT) to assess unconscious attitudes about race. The survey then asked about current strategies to mitigate unconscious bias in residency recruitment. Responses were received from 85 of 202 programs (42%). All 85 program leaders reported using implicit bias training, with 64 of 83 (77%) using blinding and 74 of 84 (88%) using standardized rubrics to score applications as strategies to mitigate bias. The IAT revealed no statistically significant difference in the proportion of respondents with a positive implicit attitude toward Black versus White people (W = 840, P = .20). Statistically significant main effects were found for applicant race and interaction between applicant race and respondent IAT score, with respondents rating applicants with unknown race lower by a mean (95% CI) of 0.61 (0.07-1.16) points on the 5-point scale than the same applicants presenting as White or Black ( t222 = 2.2, P = .03) and respondents rating White or unknown race applicants lower when their implicit attitudes toward Black people were more positive ( t207 = -4.0, P < .001 and t208 = -2.9, P = .004, respectively). Blinding applicant race may adversely impact some applicants' interview prospects, suggesting that caution be applied when considering blinding to address implicit bias.