What are some of the strengths and limitations of the IAT (implicit-association

Question

What are some of the strengths and limitations of the IAT (implicit-association test)? Remember it is ONE operational definition of bias, not THE ONE right definition. It quantifies a single aspect of that complex social phenomenon we refer to in our everyday lexicon as "bias;" in other words, it provides one index of a psychological construct that cannot be measured directly. What aspects does it not assess? A critical lesson for this week. What was your experience participating in an IAT study? Questions?

Explanation / Answer

Its prime weakness is, that it relies solely on the interpretation of the psychologist/psychiatrist who performs the test; the 'inner darkness', or simply having a bad day on behalf of the assessor cannot be ruled out. It is for this reason that its 'direct' outcome is highly controversial for use in assessments, because the goal of science is to standardize data and to make it objective as possible; interpretations of scientists, however accredited or experienced, break this rule by definition. By analogy, if you want to know the wheelbase of a car, you measure it with a proper standardized tool. You don't get a very experienced 'wheelbase of car'-expert to estimate it for you. There are, however, some very useful things you can do with it. First, during job assessments it can be very handy. In most workplaces today, there is a stronger emphasis on corporate culture than there is on being extremely good at what you do. The IAT therefore, is a very useful tool to assess if an applicant is likely to fit the corporate culture of the job in question. Since getting along with co-workers has more to do with feelings rather than actual facts, the IAT has a great advantage over standardized tests because they create this room for interpretation. In clinical settings, it can also be of great service, although not in the literal sense. When, for instance, a client comes in with really ambiguous symptoms, it can be very useful to perform an IAT in order to give an indication 'where to look'. Also, when a client has in the past been subjected to a lot of personality tests, there is a chance that this person has acquired the ability to mimic any personality he/she wants on such a test. In this case, the IAT might be a helpful supplement to the standard test battery in order to find additional avenues to explore; this use for the IAT, however, will only be helpful if the client already has a fairly large amount of recorded history regarding previously attended therapies, so that a decent amount of 'real' data on this person is already present. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) has some strengths and weaknesses as a research tool. It was somewhat accurate on my scoring for moderate preference of young more that old people, but it does not tell enough information about what it is between them. Implicit preferences can predict behavior. Implicit preferences are related to discrimination in hiring and promotion, medical treatment, and decisions related to criminal justice. This was the response given for why I should care about my score. It must take in account that these test results can come from not paying close attention to the way to answer questions or pushing the wrong answer by mistake.

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