Adam Hahn - Beyond Dishonesty and Unawareness - A new Explanation for Implicit-explicit Divergences in Attitudes
05.11.2018 (Mo) 16:15 Uhr, Raum wird noch bekannt gegeben
Abstract
Implicit evaluations – evaluations measured by indirect computerized reaction-time measures such as the IAT – are often described as reflecting “attitudes that people are unable or unwilling to report” (e.g., www.projectimplicit.org). This suggests that people are either entirely unaware of their “unconscious” attitudes, or unwilling to reveal them honestly. I will present a series of studies that question the utility and veracity of this explanation and show that under many circumstances people are both willing and able to report on the biases reflected in implicit measures. Instead, I will present a model that can explain divergences between implicit and explicit evaluations in terms of other psychological (attention, failures in affective forecasting) and methodological (stimulus effects, calibration) factors. A last project shows that focusing on these new factors – instead of unawareness or dishonesty – can lead applied researcher to design more effective interventions targeted at acknowledgement of racial biases. Discussion will focus on how simplified explanations of implicit evaluations may not only be inaccurate, but thwart the way for social psychology to have an impact on important societal issues.