IAT: A Test: The Implicit Associations Test

The IAT (Implicit Associations Test) is a test designed by Harvard to prove that implicit associations exist, despite our personal desire to insist that they do not. Implicit associations are involuntary connotations of objects or concepts that we hold but may not be aware of. Therefore, implicit associations are created through socialization, which is a process in which an individual learns and recreates skills, knowledge, values, motives, and roles appropriate to their position or group in society. Social cognition is how we interpret and apply information about other people which can be modified by implicit associations, but can also determine implicit associations. I took the IAT about race first. Before the test, I was nervous because

In my head, people were motivated by ignorance and malicious intentions to commit crimes, so anyone who committed a crime was labeled as “bad”. Every time I went into the city, it seemed to be made up primarily of black people. While I never had any negative encounter with any of these people, I came to associate my family’s and friends’ words of caution with the black population. Another observation I made while in the city, was that most of the homeless people were black. This also helped establish my stereotype that black people were unable to hold a job, and therefore a less skilled group of people. While growing up, I came to believe that racism was an evil that I wasn’t a part of because I was a nice girl. I tried to cope with the fact that I might be slightly racist by saying that I couldn’t have any stereotypes based on race because I was too nice and nobody nice could hold these negative beliefs on a

As a business major, math is still involved, but not as much as it would be in a science or mathematics degree. Now, I wonder if the implicit bias might have had an influence on why I chose to eliminate engineering and the sciences first when it came time to decide what I wanted to major in. Looking back, I am very happy with my decision but I can’t help but feel as if this implicit bias effected my decision without my knowledge. Moving forward, I think that I will be much more aware that this stereotype has been established and that it could be an underlying motivator when making decisions about what to expect or what is the norm. I don’t think that I can reverse this implicit bias because it has already been established, and I honestly didn’t even think I had it. For the future, I think that it’s best that I accept and realize that I do have a bias for which gender is better at which subject, even if it is completely false. Gender does not determine success within a certain subject, but I do believe that we have been socialized to expect a higher percent of males in science and females in liberal