The AIT test that I took was black or white, it was attempting to identify if I had a preference when it came to a person’s color. Specifically if I preferred black people or white people more than the other race. The psychological concept that the test was trying to measure was if I had an automatic or subconscious preference toward one race over another race of people (Researchers). In psychology there is a strong understanding from studies like this one that suggest every person is bias at some level. Some are just not aware that they have this prejudice inside of them. The understanding previously was that only people who were bigots were considered to have these qualities however research from studies like the AIT test have shown that this is not always the case, in fact the reality is that all people have a preference. Preference however does not mean you dislike the other race it only means that you do prefer one race over the other deep inside on a subconscious level of thinking. One professor who is also a minority studies tests like these. She was in belief that she would be one of the least likely people to show any prejudice toward another race. Upon taking one test of her own designed to detect this her results were shocking as she discovered that she did in fact have a preference on a subconscious level that she did not know about (Paul). The AIT measures the test based on decisions that are made while looking at pictures of both of the races and choosing which is good or bad during a fast response process. First the test asks you to categorize black and white people on the keyboard by pressing the letter e for one and I for the other. When this is finished it associates good or bad words under each race, then switches the categories around and you do it again. The general idea behind this strategy is that you will choose the items that you feel relate to the race while taking the test. For example on the left side it said black and a word that bad, the right said whit and the word good. The middle of the screen would flash different words to represent good or bad randomly (love, hate, and agony). If you pressed the button to put one in the wrong category it showed that you were inclined to feel a certain way about the race. For instance, if you put the word horrible under the black category, when it should have gone under the white category then you probably prefer the white race (Implicit). My results showed that I had a preference toward white people. This was shocking for me because I strongly believed I was fairly neutral. In fact compared to so many others I really believed that I was not the type of person that anyone could consider to be bias or prejudice toward another person. The test made me very curious to know what other bias and prejudice feelings that I might be harboring. When I was taking the test the only concern I had was that it did not give me my results until I answered personal questions about myself making me feel like maybe it made the decision based on who I was. I think overall the AIT did a good job measuring bias and stereotypes that are both known and unknown. It occurred to me after taking the test and considering my results with an open mind that I normally date white people. I do not have a reason that I can put down here that would explain why I do that so I really can’t attempt to defend this decision. It is just how I have always been. As far as friends go I do not really care about color, I only consider if the person is going to be a good friend. I think that the test could be shocking to someone that would think the decision means they are racist. The truth is I guess we all feel comfortable with what we know a lot about. Me personally, I do not know much about black people today, so perhaps this is why my results said that I am more inclined toward white people (Researchers).
Work Cited
Implicit, Project. Implicit.harvard.edu. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Apr. 2016.
Paul, Annie. "Where Bias Begins: The Truth About Stereotypes". Psychology Today. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Apr. 2016.
Researchers, AIT. "Take A Test". Implicit.harvard.edu. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Apr. 2016.
