Blog Post #3

Article title: Can we Really Measure Implicit Bias? Maybe Not

Article source: The Chronicle of Higher Education, Tom Bartler 

Article Date: January 05, 2017

Article URL: https://www.chronicle.com/article/can-we-really-measure-implicit-bias-maybe-not/

Summary: This article discusses the argument among psychologists regarding the Implicit Association Test (IAT) from Harvard University, which can be viewed as a measure of bias since the experiment was published online in 1998. Implicit Association Test (IAT) provides the science of bias for acknowledging prejudices that lurk beneath society's surface. Further, the author suggests Hart Blanton and Anthony G. Greenwald theories that are related to the discussion. The author claims that the test usually works on those who are aware of what will be measured in advance. To avoid bias, they follow the instructions as quickly as possible. However, there is no strong evidence that the IAT leads to behavioral changes. Blanton's statement implies that it is possible to be labeled "moderately biased" on the first test and "slightly biased" on the next test, and he compared it to a general Facebook quiz, although there is marketing data behind it. Additionally, the IAT has been debated among scholars for a while, though only known the symptoms for being implicit biases but without solutions and there is no clear conclusion or evidence to support a conclusion.  

Reactions: In my view, the argument in the article provides benefits to itself. Even the paper had no clear conclusion after it was discussed. This was because the tendency of readers to be curious, especially the IAT, would lead to more users visiting the page to experiment. In the IAT group test, I measured weight, skin tone, and religion. For example, it would be more accurate if the Religion IAT had options for the whole user. However, it provided only Islam and Judaism, and I am a Buddhist. In addition to the fact that the IAT has no relation to every religion, I wonder how it knew that I was biased towards Islam rather than Judaism. This is because in reality I have no clue about each religion, so that is an indication that the test has already been constructed. It is also possible for implicit association tests to change from round to round. To sum up everything that has been considered, bias is natural, and in the end individuals will believe in sources that are accurate to personal bias and behavior. 

Questions: 

1. Does the test update any information to be more accurate in the new era?

2. What is the independent variable in the implicit association test?  

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   DIPBM 102: Explored through the media - Bias

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