4 Implicit Association Test Essay

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The four Implicit Association Tests (IATs) I took were Gender-Science, Gender-Career, Skin Tone, and Sexuality. My results varied heavily from one test to another; only once was I in the category of the majority test-takers from all collected data. Although I believe this is an exercise that could reveal hidden biases, I do not believe it correctly identified mine all of the time. That is not to say that the tests are set up in a horrible fashion or that I do not have hidden bias. However, my test results did not match up to my own thoughts, in part because of a “happy trigger” effect—accidentally pressing a “wrong” key after many words that associated with one category or after the categories were switched. From what has been discussed in class and from what society has taught me, there are more men in science. According to my results, I heavily associate men with science and women with liberal arts. I find this conclusion to be true because I’ve had my own experiences with these results. As a young student, my math and science classes were much more competitive and, as a female, I had to be better than not only the …show more content…

Although I contribute some of this to a “happy trigger” effect, there is no doubt that society puts pressure on men to have a career and women to balance both a family and career. In a course about women in science, these results might explain why women aren’t as accepted in science, why women don’t move toward the scientific field, and, therefore, it explains why it’s a male dominated field. If women are socialized to focus on both or only a family their entire lives, it’s more likely to move them away from a scientific career. It’s vital to examine women’s forced choice out of a career in order to take care of a family due to feelings of inadequacy, gender roles, guilt, and

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