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Race Bias Implicit Association Test Paper

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For this assignment, I chose the Race Bias Implicit Association Test. I was surprised because I have taken this same assessment for another class years ago and my results changed. The first time I took the test, I received a result that did show a slightly biased preference for European American’s over African Americans. However, this time, I took my time to read and select the answer that I thought was best. However, this time around, the data suggested no automatic preference between African Americans and European Americans. I was honestly shocked at these results after conditioning myself to believe that slight implicit bias was normal after reading my results on my first attempt a few semesters back. The first time I took this test, I was devastated by the thought of even the slightest bit of bias as I’ve always been a bit of a social justice warrior when it comes to race issues. Initially I attributed the results to poorly worded questions and then attempted to rationalize by …show more content…

41). After reading the findings of Gawronski, I’m more inclined to believe the validity of the IAT. However, receiving two varying results myself, prompted me to wonder if this is something that happens often. If the results are calculated based upon the algorithm of a reaction time, how is it not possible that the person taking the test isn’t just slower at processing certain words or movement to press the corresponding key, especially once stimuli is reversed? A more recent study has shown that the IAT is not as reliable as previously thought in predicting implicit bias in contrast to explicit bias (Oswald, Mitchell, Blanton, Jaccard, & Tetlock, 2013). These researchers found that by taking a closer look at the method-specific differences, as opposed to basing results on an algorithm, the predictive validity of the IAT can be

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