Implicit Association Research Articles

A Comparative Investigation of Indirect Measures of Sexual Attraction

Indirect measures of sexual attraction may be useful research tools, in addition to direct measures. In a large online sample (N = 50,535), we compared the validity and reliability of several indirect measures, including novel measures that we developed. Our main focus was single-gender indirect measures that assess sexual attraction to men and to women separately, as recommended by contemporary sexuality theories. The gender-comparative Men/Women Implicit Association Test (IAT) had the best psychometric qualities. The best single-gender measure was a novel measure: a sexual attraction Questionnaire-based IAT. For most indirect measures, we found suggestive evidence that they capture unintentional processes that reflect sexual attraction. There was also evidence that factors other than sexual attraction might also influence the indirect measures, potentially harming the validity of the measures. Our research contributes comparative knowledge that could guide further research on sexual attraction and on the use of indirect measures of psychological constructs.

Can virtual reality technology be used for empathy education in medical students: a randomized case-control study

BackgroundEmpathy is an important factor in the doctor-patient relationship, but mental illness is more difficult to understand than other diseases. Besides traditional skills, virtual reality (VR) has been identified as a promising tool in empathy education. This study aimed to investigate the ability of empathy enhancement, the feasibility of depression education, and the changes in thoughts and attitudes in medical students through a single VR experience.MethodsWe recruited medical students and randomly assigned them to two groups based on their completed Interpersonal Response Index scores. Two sets of VR systems were provided; the intervention group experienced the daily life of the depressed medical student, while the control group experienced the general medical student scenario. The improvement of empathy was assessed using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professional Students (JSE-HPS), and the change of attitude was assessed through the Implicit Association Test. In addition, other questionnaires were used to evaluate the user experience of this VR system, and correlation analysis was conducted to examine the association between the use of VR and changes in the JSE and IAT scores.ResultsA total of 59 medical students were enrolled in this study. The intervention group showed a significant increase in the perspective-taking (pre: mean 5.817, SD 0.536; post: mean 5.947, SD 0.620; P = .03) and compassionate care (pre: mean 5.546, SD 0.581; post: mean 5.721, SD 0.629; P = .01) domains of the JSE score and a significant decrease in the standing in the patient’s shoes (SP) domain (pre: mean 3.583, SD 1.253; post: mean 2.967, SD 1.252; P = .002). The Pearson correlation analysis found a significant positive correlation between the JSE score with immersion aspect (r = .308, P = .049) and presence aspect (r = .415, P = .01), and we also found a significant negative correlation between the IAT score and presence aspect (r=-.333, P = .04).ConclusionsThis study is the first randomized case-control study to investigate the effect of two different versions of VR on empathy development toward depression for medical students. Although the single VR experience was unable to induce a great improvement in empathy or attitude, the VR system could help medical students enhance their understanding of depressive disorders.Trial registrationThis trial was retrospectively registered in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) (21/03/2024, ACTRN12624000297527). https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=386683&isReview=true.

Elevating equity: advancing diversity and inclusivity through trialing bias reduction tools in the general internal medicine program resident application process.

Decades of medical data show worse patient outcomes among racial and gender minorities due to implicit, explicit, and structural biases. Increasing representation of marginalized groups among care providers is imperative to help address this. Limited literature exists on bias awareness strategies for interviewers during the selection of applicants to General Internal Medicine (GIM) programs in Canada. This study examines the trial of bias reduction tools to increase interviewers' awareness of implicit biases. The Model of Improvement framework guided the trail of an instructional video, the adapted implicit association test (IAT), and a paper awareness tool (PAT) to increase interviewers' awareness of implicit biases during the University of Alberta's GIM applicant selection. An anonymous online survey was disseminated to physician interviewers. Descriptive statistics (percentages) and a modified sentiment analysis was completed. 10 of 14 interviewers completed the survey. Respondents reported an increased awareness of using bias reduction tools (IAT, 25%; video, 71%; PAT, 67%) to inform them on their implicit biases. The future use of IAT, video, and PAT was supported by 50%, 71%, and 67% of interviewers, respectively. Interviewers prefer the instructional video and PAT over the IAT. Textual responses suggest existing concerns for biases inherent to the interview process yet 70% (7/10) of respondents believe that interviews should have a weighting of 50% towards final ranking of candidates. As many institutions continue to rely on interviews to evaluate candidates, our findings indicate the need for a national study to develop a framework to mitigate inherent biases during interviewing of candidates.

How Does Our Voice Reflect Who We Are? Connecting the Voice and the Self Using Implicit Association Tests

PurposeThis study examined the contribution of voice to the self via implicit associations. MethodAn implicit association test (IAT) of the voice and the self was created and presented to vocal performers and community controls. One-hundred eleven participants completed this voice-self IAT, the Vocal Congruence Scale (VCS), and the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) via an in-person, monitored, and timed Qualtrics survey. Student t tests comparing timing differences between congruent and incongruent conditions revealed the presence of an implicit relationship. ResultsThe findings demonstrated an implicit relationship between the voice and the self as measured using the IAT. Strength of implicit relationships between self and voice was significantly greater for community controls than vocal performers. Additionally, this IAT revealed divergent validity with the VCS, and the VHI using Spearman’s correlation. ConclusionImplications suggest that even if overt declarations are absent, individuals with an implicit voice-self relationship rely on their voice to contribute to their sense of self. This implicit relationship is greater for community members than vocal performers.

Socialising the Frequency Code: Effects of gender and age on iconic associations of pitcha).

Burgeoning research has shown the pervasiveness of sound symbolism, a type of iconicity, in language. However, little work looks at how individual experiences and beliefs affect sound symbolic associations. We investigate pitch associations under the Frequency Code, which links high vs low pitch to small vs large body size and female vs male gender (via sexual dimorphism), long claimed to underlie "universal" meanings like submissiveness vs dominance. While such associations appear widespread, the Frequency Code assumes ideological links, e.g., between dominance and masculinity, which differ between individuals and cultures. In Implicit Association Task experiments with English-speaking listeners, we show high pitch is implicitly associated with small size and female gender, and low with large and male, following the Frequency Code. Crucially, though, the strength of these associations varies by social factors. Associations are stronger for male voices and listeners, particularly older men, as ideologies related to the Frequency Code (linking large size, strength, and dominance) tend to be stronger for men. The association of pitch with gender is stronger than with body size, reflecting stronger gender-based stereotypes. This work shows that social experience shapes and reinforces iconic associations, with important implications for how iconic meanings develop and are processed.

Generating Biomedical Hypothesis With Spatiotemporal Transformers.

Generating biomedical hypotheses is a difficult task as it requires uncovering the implicit associations between massive scientific terms from a large body of published literature. A recent line of Hypothesis Generation (HG) approaches - temporal graph-based approaches - have shown great success in modeling temporal evolution of term-pair relationships. However, these approaches model the temporal evolution of each term or term-pair with Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) independently, which neglects the rich covariation among all terms or term-pairs while ignoring direct dependencies between any two timesteps in a temporal sequence. To address this problem, we propose a Spatiotemporal Transformer-based Hypothesis Generation (STHG) method to interleave spatial covariation and temporal progression in a unified framework for constructing direct connections between any two term-pairs while modeling the temporal relevance between any two timesteps. Experiments on three biomedical relationship datasets show that STHG outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.

Exploring Implicit Biases Towards Disadvantaged Groups: An IAT Approach

Disadvantaged groups, such as individuals with disabilities, orphans, and the impoverished, constitute a significant portion of the population across the globe. These groups encounter numerous challenges in their daily lives. A societal goal should be to support disadvantaged groups in keeping pace with social development and overcoming their hardships. Prejudice, exclusion, and discrimination persist, hindering the integration of these groups into mainstream society. This study seeks to examine public attitudes towards disadvantaged groups using the implicit association test (IAT), which measures implicit acceptance or exclusion based on reaction times. Compared to surveys or interviews, the IAT can more accurately reveal an individual’s unconscious biases and provide quantitative results. In this study, a set of ten positive attribute words, ten negative attribute words, ten conceptual words related to disadvantaged groups, and ten conceptual words related to non-disadvantaged groups were utilized. A total of twenty participants were recruited to attend the trial. The data analysis revealed a general tendency for implicit rejection of disadvantaged groups, with a D value of 0.92, which is very close to the maximum threshold of [-1, 1]. Moreover, the reaction time between the compatible group and incompatible group is significantly different. The results found no statistical difference in attitudes between females and males. The findings of this study highlight the implicit perceptions of disadvantaged groups and call for a societal shift away from exclusion, prejudice, and discrimination. It emphasizes the need for a more equitable, inclusive, and respectful approach towards these groups, advocating for a societal ethos that fosters understanding and support.

Applying Implicit Propositional Measures to Detect Faking in Personality-Related Scales: Reliability, Discriminating Power, and Classification Accuracy.

Two implicit propositional measures designed to detect faking in personality-related scales were tested across four experimental studies. Study 1 (n = 116) included the Deception Relational Responding Task and Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire as the faking-detector and target scale, respectively. Respondents were randomly assigned to faking or no-faking conditions. Faking respondents were instructed to appear opposite to their narcissistic profile, while no-faking had to respond honestly. In Study 2 (n = 133), the faking-detector was the Deception Implicit Association Test (Dec-aIAT), while the target scale and faking/no-faking instructions remained the same. In Studies 3 (n = 74) and 4 (n = 111), the faking-detector was again the Dec-aIAT, while the target scale was the Big Five Questionnaire-2. Faking respondents had to adhere to a desirable target profile (Study 3; faking-good) or its opposite (Study 4; faking-bad) while no-faking should respond honestly. Overall, the implicit measures showed adequate-to-excellent reliability, discriminating power, and classification accuracy.

Musculoskeletal surgeons have implicit bias towards the biomedical paradigm of human illness.

Evidence is mounting that the biopsychosocial paradigm is more accurate and useful than the biomedical paradigm of care. Habits of thought can hinder the implementation of this knowledge into daily care strategies. To understand and lessen these potential barriers, we asked: 1) What is the relative implicit and explicit attitudes of musculoskeletal surgeons towards the biomedical or biopsychosocial paradigms of medicine? 2) What surgeon factors are associated with these attitudes? An online survey-based experiment was distributed to members of the Science of Variation Group (SOVG) with a total of 163 respondents. Implicit bias towards the biomedical or biopsychosocial paradigms was measured using an Implicit Association Test (IAT) designed by our team using open-source software; explicit preferences were measured using ordinal scales. On average, surgeons demonstrated a moderate implicit bias towards the biomedical paradigm (d-score: -0.21; Interquartile range [IQR]: -0.56 to 0.19) and a moderate explicit preference towards the biopsychosocial paradigm (mean: 14; standard deviation: 14). A greater implicit bias towards the biomedical paradigm was associated with male surgeons (d-score: -0.30; IQR: -0.57 to 0.14; P = 0.005). A greater explicit preference towards the biomedical paradigm was independently associated with a European practice location (Regression coefficient: -9.1; 95% CI: -14 to -4.4; P <0.001) and trauma subspecialty (RC: -6.2; 95% CI: -11 to -1.0; P <0.001). The observation that surgeons have an implicit bias favoring the biomedical paradigm might inform strategies for implementation of care strategies based on evidence favoring the biopsychosocial paradigm.

Me? A criminal? Relationships with offenders and implicit criminal associations

The collateral consequences of criminal justice involvement on friends and families of offenders is well documented in criminological literature. One less-understood consequence is the impact of these relationships and experiences on the cognitions of friends and family members of offenders. This study examines implicit, unconscious, and explicit, or conscious cognitions of non-criminal individuals who have personal relationships with offenders versus those who do not. Moreover, the effects of reminders of past experiences, nature of the relationship, and closeness with the offender were examined. The Implicit and Explicit Criminal-Self Association Tests were used to measure implicit and explicit criminal-self associations. Results showed that those who were close with an offender and were reminded of a past experience with an offender exhibited stronger implicit associations with the group criminal in comparison to those who were not close with an offender. This research has implications for understanding the effects of relationships with offenders for non-criminal individuals.

Learning and transfer of response-effect relations.

Acting means changing the environment according to one's own goals, and this often requires bodily movements as responses. How these responses are selected is a central question in contemporary cognitive psychology. The ideomotor principle offers a simple answer based on two assumptions: An agent first learns an association between a response and its effects. Later, this association can be used in a reverse way: When the agent wants to achieve a desired effect and activates its representation, the associated response representation becomes activated as well. This reversed use of the learned association is considered the means to select the required response. In three experiments, we addressed two questions related to the first assumption: First, we tested whether effect representations generalise to more abstract conceptual knowledge. This is important, because outside the laboratory and in novel situations, effects are variable and not always exactly identical, such that generalisation is necessary for successful actions. Second, the nature of the response-effect relation has been debated recently, and more data are necessary to put theorising on firm empirical ground. Results of our experiments suggest that (a) abstraction to conceptual knowledge seems to occur only under very restricted situations, and (b) it seems that no (implicit) associations between responses and effects are learned, but rather (explicit) propositional knowledge in the form of rules.

Healthcare providers’ psychological investment in clinical recommendations: Investigating the role of implicit racial attitudes

Racial disparities in clinical recommendations can result in racial disparities in health. While healthcare providers' implicit racial attitudes (affective component of bias) are theorized to be one major factor contributing to racial disparities in clinical recommendations, empirical evidence to support the link is lacking. This study aimed to bridge this gap by moving beyond the standard approach of operationalizing the quality of clinical recommendations as a guideline-consistent vs. -inconsistent dichotomy. The present secondary study examined the role of provider implicit racial attitudes in the quality of clinical recommendations, operationalized as behaviors reflecting providers’ psychological investment in patient care (i.e., number of words used to describe clinical recommendations, and number of treatment options recommended). Two-hundred-and-ten White medical trainees reviewed a clinical vignette of either a White or Black male patient and provided clinical recommendations. Their implicit racial attitudes were evaluated using the Implicit Association Test. Participants with more biased implicit racial attitudes (i.e., stronger implicit preference for White vs. Black individuals) used fewer words to describe their clinical recommendations and provided fewer clinical recommendations for the Black (vs. White) patient, while there were no significant differences between Black and White patients among participants with less biased implicit racial attitudes. These results illustrate the insidious impact of implicit racial attitudes in healthcare provision and underscore the need for researchers to consider the complex, nuanced ways in which provider implicit racial attitudes might manifest in clinical decision-making.

The celebrity effect in microblog browsing among Chinese college students: based on implicit and recognition procedures

ABSTRACT This study examines the influence of celebrities on microblog browsing behaviours among Chinese college students, specifically analyzing implicit attitudes and recognition processes for both celebrity and non-celebrity microblog pages. Data were collected from 89 Chinese university students using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and a recognition scoring test. employing a 2 (frequent users vs. non-frequent users) × 2 (celebrity microblogs vs. non-celebrity microblogs) mixed factorial design. Results indicate a significant preference for celebrity microblog pages, evidenced by more positive implicit attitudes and higher recognition scores compared to those for non-celebrity pages. Furthermore, frequent users demonstrated enhanced recognition, which suggests a significant celebrity effect. The study revealed the underlying automatic preference of college students for celebrities in their microblogs.

The impact of catholic titles on the perception and aestheticisation of violence in figurative paintings

ABSTRACT The impact of Catholic Titles on figurative paintings depicting violence were studied using both explicit and implicit measures. When paintings were described as Catholic, they were significantly rated as more beautiful and interesting, and less violent than when they were described as Non-Catholic. Therefore, demonstrating that Catholic themes associated with these artworks overshadow their violent content. This was demonstrated via hedonic ratings. Thus, suggesting an aestheticisation of violent imagery when connected to Catholic themes. Implicit responses, assessed using the Implicit Association Test, showed faster responses when Violent Catholic Paintings were associated Positive Adjectives and slower responses were associated when violent Non-Catholic Paintings were associated with Negative Adjectives. These implicit responses confirm previous explicit results.

Playing for a Better Future: How Animal Avatars Influence the Attitude of Players

Digital games allow us to adopt the avatar's perspective and experience the (virtual) world from another point of view. The positive effects of such role swaps are well-documented in contexts such as combating racial or ethnic biases. Our work expands this research direction by considering animal avatars: We hypothesize that playing as an animal can improve our attitude towards wildlife and nature. In particular, this manuscript contributes a first systematic study on the effects of animal avatars on players' implicit attitudes towards animals. Our study (N = 78) employs two commercial games featuring different animal avatars, Endling - Extinction is Forever and Bee Simulator, and compares the results of implicit association tests administered before and after gameplay. Our findings confirm significant positive effects of the games on players' implicit associations with foxes and bees. Together with several interesting insights regarding player-avatar relationships and avatar identification, our work paves the groundwork for games contributing positively to societal change.

Regional Accents: Spontaneous Biases Toward Speakers Who Sound Like Us

Accents provide information about a speaker's geographical, socio-economic, and ethnic background. An additional important variable in the social evaluation of accented speech is the listener's own accent. Just as with any in-group marker, there is a preference for accented speakers that sound like us. Here we employed an auditory version of the implicit association test to quantify own-accent bias. At a Welsh university, we recruited two groups of participants born and raised in distinct regions within the UK, Wales and England. These regions have a long-standing history of national rivalry. In Experiments 1 and 2 we show that the magnitude of the implicitly measured own-accent bias in both groups was comparable to biases based on visible group membership (e.g., race). In addition, Experiment 2 shows that this implicitly measured bias was large compared to the explicitly reported preference. The effect sizes of the in-group preference reported here may have societal impact.

The impact of virtual reality exposure on ocean connectedness and consumer responses to single-use packaging

Efforts to mitigate plastic packaging pollution include behavioural strategies aimed at shifting consumer perceptions and behaviour. Connectedness to nature, and more recently ocean connectedness, has been associated with pro-environmental intentions regarding single-use packaging. Two experimental studies were conducted to examine the potential of Virtual Reality (VR) technologies in promoting ocean connectedness and shifting consumer perceptions around packaging and its environmental qualities.To assess the influence of the VR content, in Study 1 (n = 94), participants were briefly exposed to an oceanic VR environment or an urban VR experience. Levels of ocean connectedness, both explicit and implicit, were measured after the VR manipulation using an Inclusion of Nature in Self (INS) measure and an Implicit Association Test (IAT). Participants then rated a variety of packaging options that were systematically manipulated in terms of type of raw material (e.g. plastic) and recyclability. The ocean VR condition showed higher levels of ocean connectedness on the adapted explicit INS measure, but not on the IAT measure, and there were no differences between the conditions in perceptions around packaging materials.Study 2 (n = 118) expanded on the previous study by adding a third condition: the participants were exposed to an oceanic VR environment, a built VR environment, or a non-VR task (cognitive task). The ocean VR condition showed higher levels of explicit ocean connectedness, as measured with the INS, than the other two conditions, but again there were no differences in implicit ocean connectedness. However, the ocean VR condition showed more critical perceptions around packaging overall in comparison to the built VR condition. We conclude that a brief immersive oceanic VR experience can influence explicit ocean connectedness, as measured with the INS, but its influence on packaging perceptions was more limited.

Implicit associations with non-suicidal self-injury: Examination in a clinical sample by borderline personality symptomatology.

We examine correlates and predictors for implicit associations with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) with the Self-Injury Implicit Association Test (SI-IAT) in a treatment-seeking sample. We also examine group differences in the SI-IAT among those with low/none, moderate and high/clinically significant borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptomatology in a treatment-seeking sample. Participants (N = 111; 58% female; 89% White; Mage = 30.25) completed the SI-IAT and self-report measures at two time points. Higher BPD symptom scores were significantly, positively correlated with implicit identification with NSSI, and predicted NSSI identity when controlling for depression indices, history of NSSI and other covariates. With Time 1 SI-IAT scores entered as a covariate, BPD scores no longer significantly predicted Time 2 SI-IAT scores. Individuals with moderate and high/clinically significant symptom counts of BPD had higher/stronger implicit associations with NSSI identity than those with no/low BPD symptoms. Individuals with symptoms of BPD may implicitly identify with NSSI more than other clinical groups; examination of implicit assessments in BPD in future research is needed to further explore implicit identification with NSSI in this patient group to further understand both cross-sectional and prospective relations.

“Love the sin, hate the sinner”: Attitudes Towards Sexuality Among Mainline and Evangelical Protestants in the USA

Abstract Introduction Attitudes towards gay and lesbian people and same-sex marriage remain a contentious issue within Evangelical Protestantism. Methods We use data from the Sexuality version of the Implicit Association Test from the Project Implicit website (n = 180,554) between 2006 and 2016. We investigate the attitudes of Atheists, Mainline Protestants and Evangelical Protestants towards gay and lesbian people and same-sex marriage. Results In an inversion of the typical mantra, Evangelical Protestant participants appear to “love the sin, hate the sinner,” with relatively high levels of approval for same-sex marriage combined with significant negative associations with gay and lesbian people. Further, we find significant differences between Mainline and Evangelical Protestants who are also gay, lesbian or bisexual compared to those who are heterosexual. Conclusions We discuss the cognitive dissonance between compassionate Christianity (“love thy neighbour”) and negative associations towards gay and lesbian people and the intersections of religious and sexual identities. Policy Implications. Results suggest that among Evangelical Protestants same-sex marriage is supported by a sizeable minority (40 + %). Efforts to improve attitudes towards same-sex marriage should focus on attempts to generate further improvements in attitudes among conservative Christians.

A Theory of Food Exploration with Gender Differences: Childhood Eating Habits and Implicit Food Attitudes.

The growing interest in nutritional psychology has sparked explorations into how eating habits impact one's emotional, cognitive, and physical health. The Theory of Food (ToF) posits that childhood eating patterns shape food choices in adulthood, influenced by cognitive and associative representations formed early in life. This study explores the relationship between specific childhood eating habits-fruit and snack consumption-and implicit attitudes toward these food groups in adulthood. It also investigates whether this relationship differs by gender. One hundred and nineteen participants completed a recall questionnaire about their childhood eating habits and an Implicit Association Test (IAT) to assess implicit attitudes toward food groups. The primary hypotheses were that greater fruit consumption in childhood would lead to more positive attitudes toward fruits, and higher snack consumption would result in more favourable attitudes toward snacks. The results did not support the initial hypotheses, indicating no direct relationship between the consumption of fruits or snacks in childhood and implicit attitudes in adulthood. However, further analyses revealed a significant difference in implicit attitudes toward fruits below versus high childhood fruit consumption participation, particularly among women. These findings highlight the complexity of the relationship between childhood eating habits and implicit food attitudes. While no direct associations were found for the overall sample, the significant differences in attitudes based on childhood fruit consumption in women suggest gender-specific patterns. These results emphasize the need for further research to unravel the intricate connections between early eating behaviours and later food attitudes.