Implicit associations as the seeds of intergroup bias: how easily do they take root?

J Pers Soc Psychol. 2001 Nov;81(5):789-99. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.81.5.789.

Abstract

Three experiments provided evidence that intergroup bias occurs automatically under minimal conditions, using the Implicit Association Test (IAT). In Experiment 1, participants more readily paired in-group names with pleasant words and out-group names with unpleasant words, even when they were experienced only with the in-group and had no preconceptions about the out-group. Participants in Experiment 2 likewise showed an automatic bias favoring the in-group, even when in-group/out-group exemplars were completely unfamiliar and identifiable only with the use of a heuristic. In Experiment 3, participants displayed a pro-in-group IAT bias following a minimal group manipulation. Taken together, the results demonstrate the ease with which intergroup bias emerges even in unlikely conditions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Association*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations*
  • Male
  • Prejudice*
  • Random Allocation
  • Social Perception