Psychological Science, 2 ed.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychological Science

Activities

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Studying Explicit and Implicit Beliefs

Photo: Keith Payne, Washington University

This activity includes: - Introduction - IAT Test - Discussion Questions

It does not take a PhD to know that people can say one thing and then do another. It does take a PhD, however, to demonstrate that people can say that they honestly believe one thing, when, in fact, unknown even to them, they harbor ideas to the contrary. Professor Mahzarin Banaji at Harvard and colleagues Brian Nosek of Yale and Anthony Greenwald of Washington University have spent years trying to separate and define the hidden and often unconscious beliefs underlying prejudice. Perhaps we all harbor some stereotypes: women make better councilors than men; Asians have a talent for math; Italians have fiery tempers and are innately romantic. Despite knowing individuals whose talents and personalities run contrary to stereotypes, we persist in maintaining these prejudices.

Banaji and her colleagues did not attempt to prove that people could hold prejudices or opinions that are not supported by experience. Instead, they sought to show that people could hold these beliefs without awareness, and that their actions could be influenced by these beliefs. These unconscious beliefs are known as implicit attitudes. To test their hypotheses, Banaji and her colleagues devised the Implicit Association Task (IAT). This test, referenced in the opening vignette of Chapter 1, was developed to measure attitudes or beliefs that people may hold without conscious awareness. In this activity, you have the opportunity to self-administer the IAT. To do so, you should be in a quiet place and be able to work without interruption for about ten minutes.

If you are ready to begin, click on the link below. Read the instructions for the IAT and then choose to take the race-based IAT. After you are finished taking the IAT, return to this page for discussion.

>> Take the Test

Can a person hold attitudes and beliefs without being consciously aware of them? If so, will those unconscious attitudes influence behavior? The evidence clearly suggests that the answer is yes. The IAT has been administered to about 1.5 million individuals, and the data suggests that for most of us, implicit attitudes towards race, age, or sex can influence our behavior.

What does it mean if your IAT results indicate a preference for White , yet you don't consider yourself to be a prejudiced individual? This is a very important question, and there are a couple of good reasons why you should not jump to the conclusion that you are prejudiced. The first is that the IAT is not perfect ; you might want to take it several times to see if you get the same results each time. The second reason speaks to the definition of prejudice itself. When social psychologists use the word "prejudice," they refer to a willingness to hold negative beliefs or to act negatively towards an out-group in our society. If you are a person who does not approve of discrimination and would not knowingly act in such a fashion, then you are not prejudiced.

Discussion Questions:

1. At the beginning of the IAT you were asked to select the statement that most closely matches your explicit (publicly-expressed) attitudes about race. What do you think it means if the answer choice you selected and your actual attitudes do not match?


2. This experiment works on the premises that people will more easily associate positive words with one group of people and negative words with another, and that it is possible to draw conclusions about implicit attitudes from such data. According to your textbook, why is this considered an indirect assessment of mental function? Why are such indirect measures necessary?


3. Your text describes a series of subsequent experiments conducted by social psychologist Mahzarin Banaji and cognitive neuroscientist Elizabeth Phelps et al. (Phelps et al., 2000) that suggests that the original IAT results may not tell the full story. How does the Phelps study differ from the test you took? What insights can psychologists gain by using fMRI in conjunction with the IAT?


4. Your text emphasizes that psychological science is a cumulative process, and that we will more clearly understand behavior when we view it across several levels of analysis. The Phelps imaging research was an attempt to tie the behavioral data from the IAT to actual structures in the brain. In your opinion, does the research by Banaji, Phelps, and their collaborators fit into the overall theme of cumulative research that cuts across levels of analysis? Why or why not?


5. Your text describes as "encouraging news" researchers' findings that activation of the amygdala does not occur when students view pictures of familiar black and white faces. Explain.


6. One possible interpretation of Banaji's work is that we are naturally wary of those who look unfamiliar. Looking askance at those who do not work and live alongside us may have been an adaptive trait a thousand years ago. We knew everyone by first name that lived and worked near us-in fact, there was no need for last names-and strangers that entered our small village were likely intent on looting. Today , we pass people constantly who we do not know. In a multicultural and diverse society, is it adaptive to distrust those who look unfamiliar?


7. The IAT has been taken by a considerable number of people of all races, sexes, and ages, and often the results suggest that implicit prejudices exist among people of all types. Based on what you have read in the chapter and in this activity, do you believe that implicit prejudicial attitudes will always be commonplace or do you see a way to reduce them?

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If you found this activity thought provoking, return to your text and reread the section on implicit attitudes. Use the Web to continue your discovery. To read more about the interpretation of the IAT, go to the FAQ page for the IAT.

A brief but informative article about Professor Banaji that was originally printed in the Harvard Gazette can be found at www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2002/04.18/03-banaji.html.

Online copies of Professor Banaji's published papers and additional information about this fascinating research is available from www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~banaji

Primary Resources:

Greenwald, A. G. and M. R. Banaji, "Implicit social cognition: Attitudes, self-esteem and cognition," Psychological Review 102 (1995): 4-27.

Phelps, E. A., K. J. O'Connor, W. A. Cunningham, E. S. Funayama, J. C. Gatenby, J. C. Gore, and M. R. Banaji, "Performance on indirect measures of race evaluation predicts amygdala activation," 12(5) (2000): 729-38.