Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T11:56:19.592Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

5 - Stretching the Limits of Science: Was the Implicit-Racism Debate a “Bridge Too Far” for Social Psychology?

from Section I - What is Implicit Bias and (How) Can We Measure It?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 December 2024

By
Gregory Mitchell  and
Philip E. Tetlock
Edited by
Jon A. Krosnick ,
Tobias H. Stark  and
Amanda L. Scott
Jon A. Krosnick
Affiliation:
Stanford University, California
Tobias H. Stark
Affiliation:
Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Amanda L. Scott
Affiliation:
The Strategy Team, Columbus, Ohio
Get access

Summary

The attentive public widely believes a false proposition, namely, that the race Implicit Association Test (“IAT”) measures unconscious bias within individuals that causes discriminatory behavior. We document how prominent social psychologists created this misconception and the field helped perpetuate it for years, while skeptics were portrayed as a small group of non-experts with questionable motives. When a group highly values a goal and leaders of the group reward commitment to that goal while marginalizing dissent, the group will often go too far before it realizes that it has gone too far. To avoid the sort of groupthink that produced the mismatch between what science now knows about the race IAT and what the public believes, social psychologists need to self-consciously embrace skepticism when evaluating claims consistent with their beliefs and values, and governing bodies need to put in place mechanisms that ensure that official pronouncements on policy issues, such as white papers and amicus briefs, are the product of rigorous and balanced reviews of the scientific evidence and its limitations.

Keywords

unconscious biasimplicit biasImplicit Association Testmisinformationgroupthinksociology of sciencepoliticizationpolitical psychology
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism , pp. 149 - 168
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arkes, H. R. (this volume). The rationality, interpretation, and overselling of tests of implicit cognition. In J. A. Krosnick, T. H. Stark & A. L. Scott (eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Arkes, H. R., & Tetlock, P. E. (2004). Attributions of implicit prejudice, or “Would Jesse Jackson ‘fail’ the Implicit Association Test?” Psychological Inquiry, 15, 257–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Banaji, M. R., & Greenwald, A. G. (2013). Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People. New York, NY: Random House.Google Scholar
Banaji, M. R., Nosek, B. A., & Greenwald, A. G. (2004). No place for nostalgia in science: A response to Arkes & Tetlock. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 279–289.Google Scholar
Bartlett, T. (2017, Jan. 5). Can we really measure implicit bias? Maybe not. Chronicle of Higher Education. Available at: www.chronicle.com/article/Can-We-Really-Measure-Implicit/238807.Google Scholar
Blanton, H., & Jaccard, J. (2008). Unconscious racism: A concept in pursuit of a measure. Annual Review of Sociology, 34, 277–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blanton, H., Jaccard, J., & Burrows, C. N. (2015). Implications of the Implicit Association Test D-transformation for psychological assessment. Assessment, 22(4), 429–440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blanton, H., Jaccard, J., Klick, J., et al. (2009). Strong claims and weak evidence: Reassessing the predictive validity of the IAT. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(3), 567–582. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014665CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blanton, H., Jaccard, J., Strauts, E., et al. (2015). Toward a meaningful metric of implicit prejudice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(5), 1468–1481. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038379CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bodenhausen, G. V., & Petsko, C. D. (this volume). Complications in predicting intergroup behavior from implicit biases: One size does not fit all. In J. A. Krosnick, T. H. Stark & A. L. Scott (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Carlsson, R., & Agerström, J. (2016). A closer look at the discrimination outcomes in the IAT literature. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 57(4), 278–287. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.12288CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chugh, D., Bazerman, M. H., & Banaji, M. R. (2005). Bounded ethicality as a psychological barrier to recognizing conflicts of interest. In Moore, D. A., Cain, D. M., Loewenstein, G., & Bazerman, M. H. (Eds.), Conflicts of Interest: Challenges and Solutions in Business, Law, Medicine, and Public Policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 74–95. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511610332.006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corneille, O., & Hütter, M. (2020). Implicit? What do you mean? A comprehensive review of the delusive implicitness construct in attitude research. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 24, 212–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868320911325CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dovidio, J. F., Pearson, A. R., Schellhaas, F. M. H., et al. (this volume). Aversive racism and implicit bias. In J. A. Krosnick, T. H. Stark & A. L. Scott (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Fazio, R. H., Granados Samayoa, J. A., Boggs, S. T., et al. (this volume). Implicit bias: What is it? In J. A. Krosnick, T. H. Stark & A. L. Scott (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Forscher, P. S., Lai, C. K., Axt, J. R., et al. (2019). A meta-analysis of procedures to change implicit measures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 117(3), 522–559. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000160CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Glenn, D. (2008, April 25). Our hidden prejudices, on trial. Chronicle of Higher Education. Available at: www.chronicle.com/article/Our-Hidden-Prejudices-on/4421Google Scholar
Green, A. R., Carney, D. R., Pallin, D. J., et al. (2007). Implicit bias among physicians and its prediction of thrombolysis decisions for Black and White patients. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 22(9), 1231–1238. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606–007-0258-5CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Greenwald, A. G., & Banaji, M. R. (2017). The implicit revolution: Reconceiving the relation between conscious and unconscious. American Psychologist, 72(9), 861–871. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000238CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Greenwald, A. G., Banaji, M. R., & Nosek, B. A. (2015). Statistically small effects of the Implicit Association Test can have societally large effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108, 553–561.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Greenwald, A. G., Dasgupta, N., Dovidio, J. F., Kang, J., Moss-Racusin, C. A., & Teachman, B. A. (2022). Implicit-bias remedies: Treating discriminatory bias as a public-health problem. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 23, 7–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/15291006211070CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Greenwald, A. G., & Krieger, L. H. (2006). Implicit bias: Scientific foundations. California Law Review, 94, 945–967.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenwald, A. G., & Lai, C. K. (2020). Implicit social cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 71, 419–445. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010419-050837CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. L. K. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The implicit association test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1464–1480.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Greenwald, A. G., Poehlman, T. A., Uhlmann, E. L., et al. (2009). Understanding and using the implicit association test: III. Meta-analysis of predictive validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97, 17–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Griffith v. Fred Meyer Stores, Inc., 2019 WL 9362530 (May 26, 2019 Washington Superior Court).Google Scholar
Hahn, A., Judd, C. M., Hirsh, H. K., et al. (2014). Awareness of implicit attitudes. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143, 1369–1392.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haynes v. Indiana University, 2017 WL 4225597 (June 5, 2017 S.D. Ind.).Google Scholar
Janis, I. L. (1982). Groupthink. Boston, MA: Houghton-Mifflin.Google Scholar
Jost, J. T., Rudman, L. A., Blair, I. V., et al. (2009). The existence of implicit bias is beyond reasonable doubt: A refutation of ideological and methodological objections and executive summary of ten studies that no manager should ignore. Research in Organizational Behavior, 29, 39–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2009.10.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jussim, L., Careem, A., Goldberg, Z., et al. (this volume). IAT scores, racial gaps, and scientific gaps. In J. A. Krosnick, T. H. Stark, & A. L. Scott (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kam, C. D., & Engelhardt, A. W. (this volume). The mass public’s view of implicit bias, with implications for scientific communication in a politically polarized age. In J. A. Krosnick, T. H. Stark, & A. L. Scott (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kang, J., & Banaji, M. R. (2006). Fair measures: A behavioral realist revision of “affirmative action.” California Law Review, 94, 1063–1118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karpinski, A., & Hilton, J. L. (2001). Attitudes and the Implicit Association Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(5), 774–788. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.81.5.774CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klauer, K. C., & Becker, M. (this volume). Latent state-trait analyses for process models of implicit measures. In J. A. Krosnick, T. H. Stark, & A. L. Scott (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kurdi, B., Seitchik, A. E., Axt, J. R., et al. (2019). Relationship between the Implicit Association Test and intergroup behavior: A meta-analysis. American Psychologist, 74(5), 569–586. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000364CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lai, C. K., Marini, M., Lehr, S. A., et al. (2014). A comparative investigation of 17 interventions to reduce implicit racial preferences. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143, 1765–1785.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lane, K. A., Kang, J., & Banaji, M. R. (2007). Implicit social cognition and law. Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 3, 427–451.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langer, G., Bashakova, Y., Krosnick, J. A., et al. (this volume). Public attitudes on implicit bias. In J. A. Krosnick, T. H. Stark, & A. L. Scott (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lublin, J. S. (2014, January 9). Bringing hidden biases into the light – big businesses teach staffers how “unconscious bias” impacts decisions. Wall Street Journal. Available at: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303754404579308562690896896Google Scholar
Lundberg, K. B., & Payne, B. K. (this volume). The bias of crowds: Rethinking implicit bias in social context. In J. A. Krosnick, T. H. Stark, & A. L. Scott (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
McConnell, A. R., & Leibold, J. M. (2001). Relations among the Implicit Association Test, discriminatory behavior, and explicit measures of racial attitudes. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 37(5), 435–442. https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.2000.1470CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meissner, , F., & Rothermund, , K. (this volume). Increasing the validity of implicit measures: New solutions for assessment, conceptualization, and action explanation. In J. A. Krosnick, T. H. Stark, & A. L. Scott (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Mitchell, G. (2018). Jumping to conclusions: Advocacy and application of psychological research. In Jussim, L. & Crawford, J. (Eds.), The Politics of Social Psychology (pp. 139–155). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
Mitchell, G., & Tetlock, P. E. (2006). Antidiscrimination law and the perils of mindreading. Ohio State Law Journal, 67, 1023–1121.Google Scholar
Mitchell, G., & Tetlock, P. E. (2017). Popularity as a poor proxy for utility: The case of implicit prejudice. In Lilienfeld, S. O. & Waldman, I. D. (Eds.), Psychological Science Under Scrutiny: Recent Challenges and Proposed Solutions. New York, NY: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 164–195. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119095910.ch10CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nosek, B. A., Greenwald, A. G., & Banaji, M. R. (2007). The implicit association test at age 7: A methodological and conceptual review. In Bargh, J. A. (Ed.), Social Psychology and the Unconscious: The Automaticity of Higher Mental Processes. New York, NY: Psychology Press, pp. 265–292.Google Scholar
Olson, M. A., & Fazio, R. H. (2004). Reducing the influence of extrapersonal associations on the implicit association test: Personalizing the IAT. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(5), 653–667. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.86.5.653CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oswald, F. L., Mitchell, G., Blanton, H., et al. (2013). Predicting ethnic and racial discrimination: A meta-analysis of IAT criterion studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 171–192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oswald, F. L., Mitchell, G., Blanton, H., et al. (2015). Predicting ethnic and racial discrimination with the IAT: Small effect sizes of unknown societal significance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108, 562–571.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paul, A. M. (1998, May 1). Where bias begins: The truth about stereotypes. Psychology Today, 31.Google Scholar
Payne, B. K., Doris, J. M. (2018, Mar. 27). How to think about “implicit bias.” Scientific American. Available at: www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-think-about-implicit-bias/.Google Scholar
Perkins, A., Forehand, M., Greenwald, A., et al. (2008). Measuring the nonconscious: Implicit social cognition in consumer behavior. In Haugtvedt, C. P., Herr, P. M., & Kardes, F. R. (Eds.), Marketing and Consumer Psychology Series: Vol. 4. Handbook of Consumer Psychology. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group/Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 461–475.Google Scholar
Pippen v. State of Iowa (Iowa District Court for Polk County, April 17, 2012). Available at: https://iowaappeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Pippen-Ruling.pdf.Google Scholar
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896).Google Scholar
Potier, B. (2004, December 16). Making case for concept of “implicit prejudice”: Extending the legal definition of discrimination, Harvard University Gazette. Available at: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2004/12/making-case-for-concept-of-implicit-prejudice/Google Scholar
Quillian, L. (2006). New approaches to understanding racial prejudice and discrimination. Annual Review of Sociology, 32, 299–328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rao, M. (2020, Mar. 21). Demand for diversity training is on the rise in Minnesota. Star Tribune. Available at: www.startribune.com/diversity-workshops-gaining-popularity-in-minnesota/568962792/.Google Scholar
Ratliff, K. A., & Smith, C. T. (2022). Implicit bias as automatic behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 33, 213–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2022.2106764CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rudman, L. A. (2008). The validity of the Implicit Association Test is a scientific certainty. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1, 426–429.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryan, C. (1974). A Bridge Too Far. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Schimmack, U. (2021). The Implicit Association Test: A method in search of a construct. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 16, 396–414. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1745691619863798CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singal, J. (2017). Psychology’s favorite tool for measuring racism isn’t up to the job. The Cut. www.thecut.com/2017/01/psychologys-racism-measuring-tool-isnt-up-to-the-job.htmlGoogle Scholar
Skagway Jewelry v. Westmark Hotels, 2016 WL 11595221 (Oct. 20, 2016 D. Alaska).Google Scholar
Tetlock, P. E., & Mitchell, G. (2009). Implicit bias and accountability systems: What must organizations do to prevent discrimination? In Staw, B. M. & Brief, A. (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior (Vol. 29, pp. 3–38). New York, NY: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Tetlock, P. E., Mitchell, G., & Anastasopoulos, L. J. (2013). Detecting and punishing unconscious bias. Journal of Legal Studies, 42, 83–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wells, G. L., Kovera, M. B., Douglass, A. B., et al. (2020). Policy and procedure recommendations for the collection and preservation of eyewitness identification evidence. Law and Human Behavior, 44(1), 3–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000359CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wolsiefer, , K. J., & Blair, , I. V. (this volume). Implicit bias and discrimination: Evidence on causality. In J. A. Krosnick, T. H. Stark, & A. L. Scott (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Implicit Bias and Racism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Zelevansky, N. (2019, Nov. 20). The big business of unconscious bias. New York Times. Available at: www.nytimes.com/2019/11/20/style/diversity-consultants.html?smid=url-shareGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×