Compelled to consume: The Implicit Association Test and automatic alcohol motivation.

The Implicit Association Test (IAT; A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & J. L. K. Schwartz, 1998) has recently been used to assess the role of alcohol-affect associations in drinking behavior. The current study examined the validity of an alcohol IAT with 88 hazardous-drinking college students who completed measures of drinking behavior, an explicit measure of alcohol motivation, and an IAT that assessed alcohol-motivation associations. Regression analyses indicated that IAT scores correlated with binge drinking and cue reactivity, replicating T. P. Palfai and B. D. Ostafin's (2003) results. Results also indicated convergent validity (the IAT was related to an explicit measure of alcohol motivation) and incremental validity (IAT scores were correlated with alcohol behavior after controlling for the explicit measure). Implications for understanding the self-regulation of drinking are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring alcohol expectancies with the implicit association test.

Researchers have relied primarily on self-report questionnaires to measure alcohol expectancies. These questionnaires assess explicit expectancies about alcohol but do not provide any measure of the implicit processes that might also play an important role in determining drinking. The implicit association test (IAT: A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & L. K. Schwartz, 1998), a reaction time task, measures differential associations of 2 target concepts with an attribute. In this study, the IAT provided a measure of the strength of associations of alcohol concepts to positive or negative outcomes in memory. This implicit measure of alcohol expectancies successfully predicted alcohol use in 103 undergraduates. The findings also supported the hypothesis that an implicit measure of expectancy can add to the predictive power of existing questionnaire-based measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit and explicit alcohol-related cognitions in heavy and light drinkers.

Implicit and explicit alcohol-related cognitions were measured in 2 dimensions: positive-negative (valence) and arousal-sedation, with 2 versions of the Implicit Association Test (IAT; A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & J. L. Schwartz) and related explicit measures. Heavy drinkers (n = 24) strongly associated alcohol with arousal on the arousal IAT (especially men) and scored higher on explicit arousal expectancies than light drinkers (n = 24). On the valence IAT, both light and heavy drinkers showed strong negative implicit associations with alcohol that contrasted with their positive explicit judgments (heavy drinkers were more positive). Implicit and explicit cognitions uniquely contributed to the prediction of 1-month prospective drinking. Heavy drinkers' implicit arousal associations could reflect the sensitized psychomotor-activating response to drug cues, a motivational mechanism hypothesized to underlie the etiology of addictive behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using the Implicit Association Test to measure self-esteem and self-concept.

Experiment 1 used the Implicit Association Test (IAT; A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & J. L. K. Schwartz, 1998) to measure self-esteem by assessing automatic associations of self with positive or negative valence. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that two IAT measures defined a factor that was distinct from, but weakly correlated with, a factor defined by standard explicit (self-report) measures of self-esteem. Experiment 2 tested known-groups validity of two IAT gender self-concept measures. Compared with well-established explicit measures, the IAT measures revealed triple the difference in measured masculinity–femininity between men and women. Again, CFA revealed construct divergence between implicit and explicit measures. Experiment 3 assessed the self-esteem IAT's validity in predicting cognitive reactions to success and failure. High implicit self-esteem was associated in the predicted fashion with buffering against adverse effects of failure on two of four measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit measures of association in psychopathology research.

Studies obtaining implicit measures of associations in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., Text Revision; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) Axis I psychopathology are organized into three categories: (a) studies comparing groups having a disorder with controls, (b) experimental validity studies, and (c) incremental and predictive validity studies. In the first category, implicit measures of disorder-relevant associations were consistent with explicit beliefs for some disorders (e.g., specific phobia), but for other disorders evidence was either mixed (e.g., panic disorder) or inconsistent with explicit beliefs (e.g., pain disorder). For substance use disorders and overeating, expected positive and unexpected negative associations with craved substances were found consistently. Contrary to expectation, implicit measures of self-esteem were consistently positive for patients with depressive disorder, social phobia, and body dysmorphic disorder. In the second category, short-term manipulations of disorder-relevant states generally affected implicit measures as expected. Therapeutic interventions affected implicit measures for one type of specific phobia, social phobia, and panic disorder, but not for alcohol use disorders or obesity. In the third category, implicit measures had predictive value for certain psychopathological behaviors, sometimes moderated by the availability of cognitive resources (e.g., for alcohol and food, only when cognitive resources were limited). The strengths of implicit measures include (a) converging evidence for dysfunctional beliefs regarding certain disorders and consistent new insights for other disorders and (b) prediction of some psychopathological behaviors that explicit measures cannot explain. Weaknesses include (a) that findings were inconsistent for some disorders, raising doubts about the validity of the measures, and (b) that understanding of the concept “implicit” is incomplete. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of indirect assessments of association as predictors of marijuana use among at-risk adolescents.

In this study, the authors compared indirect measures that attempt to quantify the level of marijuana associations among adolescents. They also evaluated whether these various methods overlap or tap different aspects of associative processes that may act in concert to influence marijuana use. Automatic drug-relevant associations were assessed in 121 at-risk youth in continuation high schools in California with the use of a word association index and computer-based, reaction time measures (i.e., Implicit Association Test [IAT] and Extrinsic Affective Simon Task [EAST]). Measures of working memory capacity, sensation seeking, and explicit cognitions also were included in analyses as potential confounders. The word association index and the marijuana IAT excited D measure were significant predictors of marijuana use. The word association index accounted for more variance in marijuana use than did the IAT or EAST measures. Further, confirmatory factor analytic models of the indirect measures of marijuana use revealed a significant moderate correlation between the EAST Excitement and Word Association factors but no significant correlations between the Word Association and IAT factors. These findings suggest that there is some convergence among the different indirect measures, but these assessments also appear to tap different aspects of associative processes. The types of indirect measures evaluated in this work provide information about spontaneous cognitions related to substance use, capturing influences on behavior that are not evaluated with traditional explicit assessments of behavior. Findings from this work add to a growing body of research that implicates the importance of implicit associative processes in risk and health behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using the implicit association test to measure age differences in implicit social cognitions.

Two studies investigated the use of the Implicit Association Test (IAT; A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & J. L. K. Schwartz, 1998) to study age differences in implicit social cognitions. Study 1 collected [AT (implicit) and explicit (self-report) measures of age attitudes, age identity, and self-esteem from young, young-old, and old-old participants. Study 2 collected IAT and explicit measures of attitudes toward flowers versus insects from young and old participants. Results show that the IAT provided theoretically meaningful insights into age differences in social cognitions that the explicit measures did not, supporting the value of the IAT in aging research. Results also illustrate that age-related slowing must be considered in analysis and interpretation of IAT measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A metacognitive approach to "implicit" and "explicit" evaluations: Comment on Gawronski and Bodenhausen (2006).

Comments on the article by B. Gawronski and G. V. Bodenhausen (see record 2006-10465-003). A metacognitive model (MCM) is presented to describe how automatic (implicit) and deliberative (explicit) measures of attitudes respond to change attempts. The model assumes that contemporary implicit measures tap quick evaluative associations, whereas explicit measures also consider the perceived validity of these associations (and other factors). Change in explicit measures is greater than implicit measures when new evaluative associations are formed and old associations are rejected. Implicit measure change is greater than explicit when newly formed evaluative associations are rejected. When implicit and explicit evaluations conflict, implicit ambivalence can occur. The authors relate the MCM to the associative-propositional evaluation model and explain how the MCM builds on the attitude strength assumptions of the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's beliefs about substance use: An examination of age differences in implicit and explicit cognitive precursors of substance use initiation.

Cognitive models conceptualize attitudes and beliefs about substance use (SU) as proximal mediators of a variety of risk and protective factors for SU. Researchers have distinguished implicit and explicit cognition, but limited research has examined this distinction in the early stages of SU. The authors' goal was to examine age differences in implicit and explicit SU cognitions to clarify proximal cognitive processes that may be involved in early SU. Alcohol- and cigarette-naive children (N=76; 69.7% male; M age=11.8 years) completed the laboratory-based experiment. Likelihood ratings of costs and benefits of use assessed explicit cognitions, and a priming task assessed implicit cognitions. Regardless of age, children perceived costs of drinking alcohol and smoking as more likely than benefits. This discrepancy was smaller for older children, although this age difference was weaker for costs and benefits of cigarette use. Strong positive implicit alcohol use cognitions were apparent regardless of age. However, age differences were found for implicit cigarette use cognition. Older children were more positive about cigarette use. Findings suggest the importance of distinguishing explicit and implicit cognition for etiological models of early SU. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Explicit and implicit measures of expectancy and related alcohol cognitions: A meta-analytic comparison.

Implicit measures assess the influence of past experience on present behavior in the absence of respondents’ awareness of that influence. Application of implicit measurement to expectancy and related alcohol cognition research has helped elucidate the links between alcohol-related experiences, the functioning of alcohol-related memory, and alcohol-related behavior. Despite these advances, a coherent picture of the role of implicit measurement has been difficult to achieve because of the diversity of implicit measures used. Two central questions have emerged: Do implicit measures assess a distinct aspect of the alcohol associative memory domain not accessible via explicit measurement; when compared with explicit measurement, do they offer unique prediction of alcohol consumption? To address these questions, the authors conducted a meta-analysis of studies using both implicit and explicit measures of alcohol expectancy and other types of alcohol-related cognition. Results indicate that implicit and explicit measures are weakly related, and although they predict some shared variance in drinking, each also contributes a unique component. Results are discussed in the context of the theoretical distinction made between the 2 types of measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Underlying Processes in the Implicit Association Test: Dissociating Salience From Associations.

The authors investigated whether effects of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) are influenced by salience asymmetries, independent of associations. Two series of experiments analyzed unique effects of salience by using nonassociated, neutral categories that differed in salience. In a 3rd series, salience asymmetries were manipulated experimentally while holding associations between categories constant. In a 4th series, valent associations of the target categories were manipulated experimentally while holding salience asymmetries constant. Throughout, IAT effects were found to depend on salience asymmetries. Additionally, salience asymmetries between categories were assessed directly with a visual search task to tionally, provide an independent criterion of salience asymmetries. Salience asymmetries corresponded to IAT effects and also accounted for common variance in IAT effects and explicit measures of attitudes or the self-concept. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Single Category Implicit Association Test as a measure of implicit social cognition.

The Single Category Implicit Association Test (SC-IAT) is a modification of the Implicit Association Test that measures the strength of evaluative associations with a single attitude object. Across 3 different attitude domains--soda brand preferences, self-esteem, and racial attitudes--the authors found evidence that the SC-IAT is internally consistent and makes unique contributions in the ability to understand implicit social cognition. In a 4th study, the authors investigated the susceptibility of the SC-IAT to faking or self-presentational concerns. Once participants with high error rates were removed, no significant self-presentation effect was observed. These results provide initial evidence for the reliability and validity of the SC-IAT as an individual difference measure of implicit social cognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding and using the Implicit Association Test: III. Meta-analysis of predictive validity.

This review of 122 research reports (184 independent samples, 14,900 subjects) found average r = .274 for prediction of behavioral, judgment, and physiological measures by Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures. Parallel explicit (i.e., self-report) measures, available in 156 of these samples (13,068 subjects), also predicted effectively (average r = .361), but with much greater variability of effect size. Predictive validity of self-report was impaired for socially sensitive topics, for which impression management may distort self-report responses. For 32 samples with criterion measures involving Black–White interracial behavior, predictive validity of IAT measures significantly exceeded that of self-report measures. Both IAT and self-report measures displayed incremental validity, with each measure predicting criterion variance beyond that predicted by the other. The more highly IAT and self-report measures were intercorrelated, the greater was the predictive validity of each. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The thin ideal and body image: An experimental study of implicit attitudes.

Thin-ideal internalization is a core construct in body dissatisfaction, central to eating disorders and generally assessed with explicit measures. To compare implicit and explicit measures of thin-ideal internalization and their relationship to body image, the authors developed a thin-ideal implicit association test (IAT). Although the IAT revealed a strong cognitive bias toward fat as negative (differences in response latencies: t[85]=9.829, p     

Influence of motivational interviewing on explicit and implicit alcohol-related cognition and alcohol use in at-risk adolescents.

Both implicit and explicit cognitions play an important role in the development of addictive behavior. This study investigated the influence of a single-session motivational interview (MI) on implicit and explicit alcohol-related cognition and whether this intervention was successful in consequently decreasing alcohol use in at-risk adolescents. Implicit and explicit alcohol-related cognitions were assessed at pretest and one month posttest in 125 Dutch at-risk adolescents ranging in age from 15 to 23 (51 males) with adapted versions of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and an expectancy questionnaire. Motivation to change, alcohol use and alcohol-related problems were measured with self-report questionnaires, at pretest, at posttest after one month, and at the six-month follow-up. Although the quality of the intervention was rated positively, the results did not yield support for any differential effects of the intervention on drinking behavior or readiness to change at posttest and six-month follow-up. There were indications of changes in implicit and explicit alcohol-related cognitions between pretest and posttest. Our findings raise questions regarding the use of MI in this particular at-risk adolescent population and the mechanisms through which MI is effective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory activation and expectancy as prospective predictors of alcohol and marijuana use.

This study examined whether indicators of drug-related memory associations predicted drug use prospectively. The predictive effects of outcome expectancies, sensation seeking, and other variables also were investigated. The results revealed that the memory association measures significantly predicted subsequent drug use. Outcome expectancies and sensation seeking predicted alcohol use, but not marijuana use. The findings suggest 2 possibly different aspects of cognition involved in drug use motivation: (a) a memory activation or implicit cognition component, representing the effects of memory associations that are prompted relatively spontaneously by the prevailing motivational and situational circumstances and (b) an outcome expectancy component, which is more likely to reflect explicit cognitions involved in introspection and deliberate decision-making processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit self-esteem: Nature, measurement, and a new way forward.

Gaining insight into the nature and consequences of people's global self-evaluations (i.e., their self-esteem) has been fraught with difficulty. Nearly 2 decades ago, researchers suggested that such difficulties might be addressed by the development of a new class of measures designed to uncover implicit self-esteem. In this article, we evaluate the construct validity of the 2 most common measures of implicit self-esteem, the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and Name–Letter Test (NLT). Our review indicates that the research literature has not provided strong or consistent support for the validity of either measure. We conclude that both tests are impoverished measures of self-esteem that are better understood as measures of either generalized implicit affect (IAT) or implicit egotism (NLT). However, we suggest that there surely are aspects of self-esteem that people are unwilling or unable to report and suggest a general approach that may allow researchers to tap these unspoken aspects of self-esteem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of automatic obesity stereotypes in real hiring discrimination.

This study examined whether automatic stereotypes captured by the implicit association test (IAT) can predict real hiring discrimination against the obese. In an unobtrusive field experiment, job applications were sent to a large number of real job vacancies. The applications were matched on credentials but differed with respect to the applicant's weight. Discriminatory behavior was quantified by the extent to which the hiring managers invited normal-weight versus obese applicants to a job interview. Several months after the behavioral data were obtained, the hiring managers completed an obesity IAT and explicit hiring preference measures. Only the IAT scores reliably predicted interview decisions. More specifically, hiring managers holding more negative automatic stereotypes about the obese were less likely to invite an obese applicant for an interview. The present research is the first to show that automatic bias predicts labor market discrimination against obese individuals. Practical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The drink remains the same: Implicit positive associations in high but not moderate or non-caffeine users.

Research has demonstrated that high, but not low caffeine users exhibit an attentional bias to caffeine related stimuli. Separately, the Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) has been used to investigate the valence of implicit cognitions to drugs with some contradictory findings, though no work has addressed this issue with respect to caffeine. Here, we examined whether attentional bias would be found in high and moderate caffeine users using a pictorial version of the dot-probe task. A second aim was to explore differences in implicit cognitions between users and non-users. Fifteen high, moderate and non-caffeine users completed a picture dot-probe, IAT, and mood questionnaire following overnight caffeine deprivation. In the IAT, results demonstrated positive associations to caffeine related words for high but not moderate or non-users. Lower ratings for calmness were evident in both groups of caffeine compared to non-users. Dot-probe findings revealed an attentional bias among moderate caffeine users and non-users but not heavy users. The observed positive implicit associations to caffeine suggest that drug acceptability is the key in such perceptions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)