Implicit-explicit discrepancies regarding racial attitudes among U.S. Whites.

Work on implicit attitude measures has become increasingly rich and nuanced, with much theoretical development emanating from investigations of the correspondence between implicit and explicit attitude measures. However, various facets of implicit-explicit discrepancies (IEDs) remain underexplored - particularly, how prevalent the potentially distinct categories of IEDs are. Existing models speak mainly to discrepancies that occur because explicit attitudes are less prejudiced than implicit attitudes and tends to assume other possible categories are trivial. Using data from two large samples, this study provides a descriptive analysis of the different ways IEDs exist regarding racial attitudes among U.S. Whites. Results suggest IEDs exist largely in line with traditional theories, but there is substantial variation yet to be understood. These results were robust across a variety of measures, although decision-making in the construction of measures can be consequential. Future research should consider this variation in theory development regarding implicit versus explicit attitude measures.

Effects of Mass Shootings on Mental Illness Stigma in the United States.

Although the vast majority of people with mental illness (PWMI) are not violent, Americans tend to think they are more dangerous than the general population. Because negative media portrayals may contribute to stigma, we used time-series analyses to examine changes in the public's perceived dangerousness of PWMI around six mass shootings whose perpetrators were reported to have a mental illness. From 2011 to 2019, 38,094 U.S. participants completed an online study assessing implicit and explicit perceived dangerousness of PWMI. There were large, upward spikes in perceived dangerousness the week of the Sandy Hook mass shooting that were relatively short-lived. However, there was not a consistent pattern of effects for other events analyzed, and any other spikes observed were smaller. Effects tended to be larger for explicit versus implicit perceived dangerousness. Sandy Hook seemed to temporarily worsen perceived dangerousness of PWMI, but this pattern was not observed for other mass shootings.

Self-Awareness and Stereotypes: Accurate Prediction of Implicit Gender Stereotyping.

Research showing that people can predict the patterns of their implicit evaluations toward social groups has raised questions concerning how widely these findings extend to other domains, such as semantic implicit stereotyping. In a preregistered laboratory study, participants were asked to predict their scores on five implicit gender stereotyping Implicit Associations Tests (IATs). Within-subjects correlations between IAT score predictions and IAT scores showed high levels of accuracy. Although part of the IAT score patterns could be predicted from shared knowledge, own predictions significantly outperformed predictions of random others and normative patterns, suggesting self-awareness beyond reliance on shared knowledge. In line with dual-process models emphasizing that different information is captured by implicit as opposed to explicit measures, predictions explained correlations between implicit and traditional explicit stereotyping measures, and led to acknowledgment of bias. Discussion focuses on understanding conscious awareness of semantic automatic processes and conceptualizations of the cognitions underlying implicit measures.

The IRAP as a Measure of Implicit Cognition: A Case of Frankenstein's Monster.

The implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP) was initially developed as a way to assess the strength and probability of natural verbal relations, as defined within relational frame theory (RFT), and was conceptually rooted within the behavior-analytic tradition. However, the IRAP quickly became employed primarily as a measure of implicit cognition, more in line with mainstream psychology than behavior analysis. In doing so, research using the IRAP increasingly employed ill-defined mainstream psychological terms, focused on correlational analyses with traditional psychometry, and thus emphasized prediction over the prediction-and-influence of behavior. Although perhaps beneficial to the study of implicit cognition, this approach could be argued to have limited the IRAP's utility in behavior analyses of human language and cognition. In the current article we will reflect on this suggestion, on the IRAPs place and current use in the field of behavior analysis, and on its potential future within behavioral psychology in light of recent conceptual and empirical advances in RFT. In doing so, it is hoped that the measure may be refined into a better understood, more precise, functional-analytic tool.

The role of causal structure in implicit evaluation.

Causal relationships, unlike mere co-occurrence, allow humans to obtain rewards and avoid punishments by intervening on their environment. Accordingly, explicit (controlled) evaluations of stimuli encountered in the environment are known to be sensitive to causal relationships above and beyond mere co-occurrence. In this project, we conduct stringent tests of whether implicit (automatic) evaluation also reflects causal relationships and begin to probe the representational mechanisms underlying such sensitivity. Participants (N = 4836) observed causal events during which two stimuli were equally contingent with positive or negative outcomes but only one of them was causally responsible for these outcomes. Across 6 studies, varying in design and amount of verbal scaffolding provided, differences in causal status consistently guided not only explicit measures of evaluation (Likert and slider scales; Bayes Factor meta-analysis: Cohen's d = 0.28, BF10 > 1046) but also their implicit counterparts (Implicit Association Tests; Bayes Factor meta-analysis: Cohen's d = 0.22, BF10 > 1029). However, unlike their explicit counterparts, implicit evaluations were not sensitive to causal relationships that had to be flexibly derived by combining disparate past experiences. Taken together, these studies suggest that implicit evaluations are sensitive to causal information. Such sensitivity seems to be mediated via precompiled, causally informed value representations rather than online computations over a causal model.

No elephant in the room: The incremental validity of implicit self-esteem measures.

OBJECTIVE: Correlational research aiming to validate measures and the construct of implicit self-esteem (ISE) has produced heterogeneous results in the past. We argue that this might be caused by two underappreciated obstacles: the situational malleability of and the construct irrelevant variance in conventional ISE measures. In this study, we aim to address these problems. METHODS: To this end, we applied process and latent state-trait modeling to Implicit Association Test and Name Letter Task data collected on four occasions across six weeks in a preregistered online study (initial N = 360, final N = 302). We investigated the relation of supposed trait ISE parameters with trait explicit self-esteem (ESE) and a set of criteria. RESULTS: Results indicated no latent trait correlation among the different supposed indicators of ISE, small latent trait correlations of indicators of ISE and ESE, and little incremental validity of the supposed ISE measures in predicting potential criterion measures over and above ESE. CONCLUSIONS: These findings align with previous critical evaluations regarding the supposed measures of ISE and the conceptual validity of ISE as an association and call for a more careful terminology in the field.

Pharmacological compounds targeting emotional cognition in alcohol use disorder: A systematic review.

Non-emotional (e.g., executive functions) and emotional cognitive (e.g., facial emotion recognition) impairments are a well-known aspect of alcohol use disorder (AUD). These deficits may impede on treatment outcomes, increase the risk of relapse, and lead to socio-occupational disabilities. Previous systematic reviews have examined the effectiveness of cognitive enhancing pharmacological agents (CEPAs) targeting non-emotional, but not emotional, cognition in AUD. Our aim was to systematically review the effectiveness of CEPAs targeting emotional cognition in subclinical and clinical AUD populations. A qualitative synthesis of controlled trials was conducted, and the studies were assessed for risk of bias. Eight studies were eligible (15 ≤ ns ≤ 143), and they all had a moderate risk of bias. Modafinil and nalmefene were the most examined agents, with the findings suggesting a potential beneficial effect of the agents on implicit emotional domains (i.e., reward processing). Methodological shortcomings and heterogeneous findings across the studies do not allow inferences about the effectiveness of these compounds in AUD. Future studies should examine CEPAs targeting emotional cognition in more detail.

Implicit and Explicit Self-Identification as a Drug User in People Who Used Heroin and Methamphetamine.

Implicit and explicit self-identification as a drug user specific to the substance used (e.g., viewing oneself as a drinker) have been examined, as they relate to that drug use. However, studies have rarely explored whether identifying as a "drug user" differs implicitly and explicitly for people who use different drugs and how this identification relates to drug-use behaviors or abstinence. This study examined implicit and explicit self-identification as a "drug user" and their associations with drug-use behaviors and abstinence in people who used heroin (PWUH) and people who used methamphetamine (PWUM). Forty PWUH and 35 PWUM in a rehabilitation facility completed the single category implicit association test (SC-IAT), which evaluated implicit associations of a "drug user" with "self," and a measure of explicit self-identification as a "drug user." Prior drug-use behaviors and current abstinence duration of the participants were assessed. PWUH demonstrated stronger implicit "self + drug user" associations and higher levels of explicit self-identification as a "drug user" than PWUM. A higher frequency of drug use was associated with higher levels of explicit drug-user self-identity, and longer abstinence duration was positively related to stronger implicit "self + drug user" associations in PWUH. The drug type of heroin (vs. methamphetamine) participants used was associated with a higher frequency of use, which, in turn, predicted higher levels of explicit drug-user self-identity. Given that the PWUH group differs from the PWUM group in terms of implicit and explicit self-identification as "drug users," it would be more appropriate to address drug-user self-identity of individuals according to the substance they use rather than as a collective group.

Political ideology and diurnal associations A dual-process motivated social cognition account.

Social scientists have begun to uncover links between sleep and political attitudes and behaviors. This registered report considers how diurnal morning-night associations relate to political ideology using data from the Attitudes, Identities, and Individual Differences Study, a large-scale online data collection effort. Measures encompass perceived cultural attitudes and social pressures regarding diurnal preferences and explicit and implicit measures of both morning-night attitudes and morning-night self-concepts. Together, the analyses demonstrate a relationship between morning orientation and conservatism for explicit morning-night self-concepts and, to a lesser extent, explicit morning-night attitudes. This relationship is not present for implicit associations, and associations with perceived cultural attitudes and social pressure are also largely absent. This study reinforces the notion that morningness and eveningness as explicit identities are associated with political ideology.

Individualized Web-Based Attention Training With Evidence-Based Counseling to Address HIV Treatment Adherence and Psychological Distress: Exploratory Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of mood, trauma, and stressor-related disorders is disproportionately higher among people living with HIV than among individuals without the virus. Poor adherence to HIV treatment and heightened psychological distress have been linked to symptoms associated with these disorders. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this exploratory pilot study was to develop and implement an intervention that combined individualized web-based attention training with evidence-based counseling to promote HIV treatment adherence and reduce psychological distress among people living with HIV. The study targeted African American and Latino young men who have sex with men, two population groups in the US that continue to experience disparities in HIV treatment outcomes. METHODS: Study participants with elevated symptoms of depression and suboptimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy were recruited primarily through referrals from Los Angeles health and social service providers as well as postings on social media. Participants enrolled in the 4-week intervention received weekly counseling for adherence and daily access to web-based attention training via their personal mobile devices or computers. RESULTS: Of the 14 participants who began the intervention, 12 (86%) completed all sessions and study procedures. Using a pretest-posttest design, findings indicate significant improvements in adherence, depressive symptoms, and attention processing. Overall, the proportion of participants reporting low adherence to antiretroviral therapy declined from 42% at baseline to 25% at intervention completion (P=.02, phi=0.68). Mean depressive symptoms measured by the 9 item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) showed a substantial reduction of 36% (P=.002, Cohen d=1.2). In addition, participants' attentional processing speeds for all types of stimuli pairings presented during attention training improved significantly (P=.01 and P=.02) and were accompanied by large effect sizes ranging from 0.78 to 1.0. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the feasibility of web-based attention training combined with counseling to improve antiretroviral therapy adherence among patients with psychological distress. Future research should include a larger sample, a control group, and longer-term follow-up.

A Process Dissociation Model of Implicit Rapid Revision in Response to Diagnostic Revelations.

Previous research has demonstrated that implicit evaluations can be reversed with exposure to a single impression-inconsistent behavior. But what exactly is changing when perceivers encounter diagnostic revelations about someone? One possibility is that rapid changes are occurring in the extent to which perceivers view the person positively or negatively. Another possibility is that they override the expression of initial evaluations through control-oriented processes. We conducted three studies (one preregistered) that used multinomial process trees to distinguish between these possibilities. We find consistent support across two different implicit measures that diagnostic behaviors result in rapid changes in evaluative processes. We obtained only inconsistent evidence for effects on more control-oriented processes. These findings thus help to reveal the cognitive processes underlying rapid implicit revision. Implications for theoretical perspectives on implicit attitudes are discussed.

Shifting perceptions of social class: Race-based shifts in class-related occupations.

Based on social expectations associating White and Black racial categories with higher and lower ends of the social hierarchy, respectively, the criteria used in interpersonal judgments of social class categorizations should differ between White and Black targets, with Black targets needing objectively lower criteria than White targets to achieve a particular subjective level of social class. In an analysis of the occupations assigned to Working- and Middle-Class targets, respondents assigned occupations of higher financial and educational attainment, higher social status, more influence, and greater desirability to a White target than to a comparably described Black target. Despite this pattern, however, respondents judged the occupations assigned to a Black target as lower in prestige than those they assigned to a White target. The results are discussed in the context of interracial perceptions of social standing and motivations for societal change.

Can the Implicit Association Test Serve as a Valid Measure of Automatic Cognition? A Response to Schimmack (2021).

Much of human thought, feeling, and behavior unfolds automatically. Indirect measures of cognition capture such processes by observing responding under corresponding conditions (e.g., lack of intention or control). The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is one such measure. The IAT indexes the strength of association between categories such as "planes" and "trains" and attributes such as "fast" and "slow" by comparing response latencies across two sorting tasks (planes-fast/trains-slow vs. trains-fast/planes-slow). Relying on a reanalysis of multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) studies, Schimmack (this issue, p. 396) argues that the IAT and direct measures of cognition, for example, Likert scales, can serve as indicators of the same latent construct, thereby purportedly undermining the validity of the IAT as a measure of individual differences in automatic cognition. Here we note the compatibility of Schimmack's empirical findings with a range of existing theoretical perspectives and the importance of considering evidence beyond MTMM approaches to establishing construct validity. Depending on the nature of the study, different standards of validity may apply to each use of the IAT; however, the evidence presented by Schimmack is easily reconcilable with the potential of the IAT to serve as a valid measure of automatic processes in human cognition, including in individual-difference contexts.

Implicit learning of two artificial grammars.

This study investigated the implicit learning of two artificial systems. Two finite-state grammars were implemented with the same tone set (leading to short melodies) and played by the same timbre in exposure and test phases. The grammars were presented in separate exposure phases, and potentially acquired knowledge was tested with two experimental tasks: a grammar categorization task (Experiment 1) and a grammatical error detection task (Experiment 2). Results showed that participants were able to categorize new items as belonging to one or the other grammar (Experiment 1) and detect grammatical errors in new sequences of each grammar (Experiment 2). Our findings suggest the capacity of intra-modal learning of regularities in the auditory modality and based on stimuli that share the same perceptual properties.

Math Is for Me: A Field Intervention to Strengthen Math Self-Concepts in Spanish-Speaking 3rd Grade Children.

Children's math self-concepts-their beliefs about themselves and math-are important for teachers, parents, and students, because they are linked to academic motivation, choices, and outcomes. There have been several attempts at improving math achievement based on the training of math skills. Here we took a complementary approach and conducted an intervention study to boost children's math self-concepts. Our primary objective was to assess the feasibility of whether a novel multicomponent intervention-one that combines explicit and implicit approaches to help children form more positive beliefs linking themselves and math-can be administered in an authentic school setting. The intervention was conducted in Spain, a country in which math achievement is below the average of other OECD countries. We tested third grade students (N = 180; M age = 8.79 years; 96 girls), using treatment and comparison groups and pre- and posttest assessments. A novelty of this study is that we used both implicit and explicit measures of children's math self-concepts. For a subsample of students, we also obtained an assessment of year-end math achievement. Math self-concepts in the treatment and comparison groups did not significantly differ at pretest. Students in the treatment group demonstrated a significant increase in math self-concepts from pretest to posttest; students in the comparison group did not. In the treatment group, implicit math self-concepts at posttest were associated with higher year-end math achievement, assessed approximately 3 months after the completion of the intervention. Taken together, the results suggest that math self-concepts are malleable and that social-cognitive interventions can boost children's beliefs about themselves and math. Based on the favorable results of this feasibility study, it is appropriate to formally test this novel multicomponent approach for improving math self-concepts using randomized controlled trial (RCT) design.

Preliminary development of an implicit association test to measure body dissatisfaction and predict disordered eating behaviors.

We conducted a preliminary test of a novel implicit association test for body dissatisfaction (BD-IAT). We predicted that BD-IAT would correlate with self-reported BD and predict later eating disorder (ED) attitudes. Female undergraduates (N = 145) self-reported BD and ED attitudes. In the BD-IAT, participants sorted words related to "satisfaction" and "dissatisfaction" to opposite sides of a computer screen. Participants categorized pictures of themselves to the side of the screen with the word "Me," which appeared with the "satisfied" or "dissatisfied" category in separate blocks. The BD-IAT measured the strength of the association between a participant's own body and dissatisfaction. The BD-IAT correlated positively with the EDI-BD (r = 0.21, p < 0.05), supporting its convergent validity. The BD-IAT predicted ED attitudes at one-week follow-up, controlling for explicit BD and baseline ED (b = 0.58, SE = 0.23, t = 2.57, p = .01); IAT scores uniquely accounted for 4.7 % of the variance in ED at one-week follow-up. These results provide preliminary evidence for the BD-IAT as an implicit measure of BD and suggest that it may predict future ED attitudes above and beyond explicit BD. Directions for future work aimed at continued development of this task are discussed.

Implicit memory associations and video gaming.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop measures to assess implicit memory associations for video gaming and to examine the relationship between implicit memory associations, video gaming involvement, and problem video gaming. METHODS: A survey of online panelists from across Canada was conducted that included 166 problem video gamers who were recruited for participation in a larger study examining the relationship between gambling, video gaming, and collectible card play. Memory associations were assessed using a 10-item measures of word associations and behaviour associations. Video gaming involvement was assessed via self-report of time and frequency of play, and problem video gaming was assessed using the Behavioral Addiction Measure for Video Gaming (BAM-VG). RESULTS: Significant Kendall tau-b correlations ranging from 0.297 to 0.405 were found between measures of memory associations and both level of video gaming involvement and problem video gaming. CONCLUSIONS: There is a robust relationship between memory associations for video gaming with level of video gaming involvement and problem video gaming. The results suggest that implicit associations may have utility in the assessment of problem video gaming.

On the Roles of Stereotype Activation and Application in Diminishing Implicit Bias.

Stereotypes can influence social perception in undesirable ways. However, activated stereotypes are not always applied in judgments. The present research investigated how stereotype activation and application processes impact social judgments as a function of available resources for control over stereotypes. Specifically, we varied the time available to intervene in the stereotyping process and used multinomial modeling to independently estimate stereotype activation and application. As expected, social judgments were less stereotypic when participants had more time to intervene. In terms of mechanisms, stereotype application, and not stereotype activation, corresponded with reductions in stereotypic biases. With increasing time, stereotype application was reduced, reflecting the fact that controlling application is time-dependent. In contrast, stereotype activation increased with increasing time, apparently due to increased engagement with stereotypic material. Stereotype activation was highest when judgments were least stereotypical, and thus, reduced stereotyping may coincide with increased stereotype activation if stereotype application is simultaneously decreased.

Assessing implicit and explicit dementia stigma in young adults and care-workers.

This aim of this study was to assess implicit and self-reported stigma towards people with dementia in young adults with no contact or experience (n = 23), and in care-workers (n = 17 professional dementia care-workers). Data were analysed to determine whether stigma was related to self-reported levels of depression, anxiety, stress and professional burnout. Forty participants completed the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure and Dementia Attitudes Scale. The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale and Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to measure depression, anxiety, stress and professional burnout. The young adult group showed statistically significant levels of dementia stigma (on the two "dementia" trial-types, p = .027 and p = .030). Statistical analyses showed more dementia-positive attitudes in care-workers compared to young adults on the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure and the Dementia Attitudes Scale (both p's=.021). Spearman's Rho correlations tests showed that for the care-givers, higher levels of burn-out were associated with more negative attitudes towards people with dementia on both of the Dementia Attitudes Scale subscales (social comfort p<.001 and dementia knowledge p=.005). The results support prior research showing that experience with a stigmatised group can lower stigma and demonstrate the importance of providing a supportive work environment to mitigate burnout.

The Attentional Bias in Current and Former Smokers.

Attentional bias has been defined as the propensity of a person to allocate selective attention automatically to salient cues (Field and Powell, 2007). In the case of smoking, this bias implies that smokers are implicitly attracted by smoking-related stimuli, which produce behavioral, memory, and emotional effects (Volkow et al., 2006; Giardini et al., 2009). In more detail, scientific evidence pointed out that smoking is strongly supported by attentional bias that activates craving and urgency to smoke a cigarette. However, poor and conflicting data are available regarding the role of this cognitive bias on former smokers. The main aim of this study is to explore the occurrence of the attentional bias on of both current and former smokers, also with the aim to identify associations with behavioral, psychological and cognitive characteristic of participants. We collected data on 245 current, volunteers (male 50.6%; female 49.4%) aged 54.81 (SD = 14.352, range = 18-63), divided in current smokers (98), former smokers (102) and non-smokers (45). A combination of neuropsychology tests (Emotional Smoke Stroop Task and Go/no-Go task), and standardized questionnaires [Behavioral Inhibition System-Behavioral Approach System (BIS-BAS), Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Motivational questionnaire] were used to assess the attentional bias, psychological variables, and smoking-related characteristics. Responses at the Emotional Smoke Stroop task revealed that current and former smokers are actually slower than non-smokers are when facing smoking cues, while performances at other Stroop conditions and at the Go/no-Go task are not statistically different. These results confirmed the occurrence of the attentional bias in current smokers, and above all points out that the same effect is present in former smokers. We found only small and selective correlations between attentional bias and psychological variables (e.g., impulsiveness and inhibition). In particular, impulsivity is not directly associated with the AB intensity. Also, smoking characteristics (e.g., years of smoking and dependence level) and the length of the period of abstinence do not seem to modulate implicit cognition of smoking cue. Our data support the idea that the attentional bias may be considered relevant in sustaining smoking and favoring relapse.