The Implicit Association Test (1998 ) or IAT is a test to see how quickly you can match or associate words with pictures. It is used to test how people feel and think deep down about things like race, age and sex. It is most famous as a test for racism.
With most tests the test maker can always beat the test while others can increase their score if they take it enough times.
Not so the IAT. Brian Nosek designed the IAT for racism and, try as he might, it always shows that he has a strong unthinking preference for whites. Preferences can be strong, moderate, slight or none.
Nosek is himself white. About 80% of white Americans show a preference for whites. What that means in terms of the test is that it is easier for them to pair words like “love”, “peace” and “joy” with white faces and words like “terrible”, “evil” and “failure” with black faces than it is for them to do the opposite. The test times you, so it knows.
Because you must do it quickly, thinking about it will only screw you up.
That is why it is a test not of what you think but of what you think without thinking!
And so whites who have helped blacks their whole lives, whites who no one thinks of as racist, can still show a strong unthinking preference for whites. In their everyday thoughts they may not be racist, but deep down in their subconscious, below the level of thought, they still see white as good and black as bad.
Not surprising for anyone who grows up in America. As it turns out, even 42% of black Americans have a preference for whites! They too, in the back of their minds, tend to see white as good and black as bad!
Although no thought process is going to change your score by much, it still can change. One test taker took it every day and recorded his score. It always showed a preference for whites. But then one day it showed a preference for blacks! As it turns out, he had been watching the Olympics, showing blacks winning medals for the country. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book “Blink”, notes that thinking of Nelson Mandela just before the test will change your score too.
Assuming the test is right, what does that say about the nature of racism and where it comes from? What does it say about white teachers and policemen who must teach and protect black people?
I took the test. It showed I have a moderate unthinking preference for blacks. I know that will not come as a shock to some of my white readers.
Is it a good test of racism? Experts do not agree. There are good arguments for both sides. But it is interesting and makes you think.
You can take the test online at Project Implicit. See how you do!
- Project Implicit – take the test!
- Siditty takes the IAT
- Racism Vision Test – a test I made
- Why whites are blind to their racism
- All whites are racist
- All blacks are racist
I took the test in college and was the only person who scored having no preference either way.
Took it again some time later, same result. I am the ultimate fence sitter.
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I took this test in college as well, multiple times.
The IAT kept revealing that I have a moderate subconscious “bias” toward black.
I also took the “skin color” IAT three times. It kept revealing that I have no skin color preference.
To be completely honest, both results of those IAT are pretty accurate of my conscious mindset as well. Is the test that good or am I personally just really “in touch” w/ myself?
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I think you are in touch with yourself. Or maybe you had no reason to change the way you were brought up.
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I took the IAT for self/other and accept/protest preferences, and I just found it really confusing. I don’t think my brain is wired to do 2 things at once, so I got a bunch of answers wrong, regardless of what the good and bad labels were paired with.
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I took the test and I must admit, I was a bit surprised (or, should I say, shocked) with my result. I never thought of myself as racist- after all, I believe in equality- and I expected “no preference either way” result.
But apparently I have STRONG preference for black people.
BTW, I am white and I am not an American.
Interesting test, though.
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I tried to take this test just now, but the questions are unanswerable. how can you associate character traits with a picture of a face? i didnt think any of the words automatically applied to any of the pics, so i couldnt answer the question!
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The bottom line is, if u can do anything to this test besides stare in total confusion, you are racist.
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Kristi,
I think you misunderstood the instructions. You have two sets of data: people and words. You put white people on one side, black people on the other. You put nice words on one side, bad words on the other. These two sets are not connected- if they say put black people on the right, you do that. If they say put nice words on the right, you do that. If you make an error (put a nice word on the left), they ask you to try again.
Subconsciously, however, they measure whether it was easier for you to group nice words with white people or with black people. But the instructions of the test are simple- you don’t have to consciously think about connecting people with words- these two sets are separate.
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Yeah, guess i kinda skipped the instructions. ive just seen too manx “label the person based on their race” surveys. time to retry…
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Actually read the instructions and did the test. scored slight preference for blacks. im white, from rural wi, and have known 8 black people in my life +there just arent many around here+, including the highschool bully and my boyfriend’s ex. voted obama.
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Low income young 9th grade dropout w 3 kids. hate rap. have frequent screaming matches w my dad when he says racist things. just so u know who ur talking to.
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Welcome Kristi, don’t be too hard on Dad. It takes time to change for all of us.
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Kinda wonder, though, if your unbidden, private conscious thoughts and hence, your attitudes, words and actions are strongly not racist, what does it really matter if your feelings u dont even know about or let affect u are racist?
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And if racism appalls u and not a single thought in ur head is racist, but u discover that way deep down u actually are racist, well theres not much u can really do about it except start hating yourself now, is there?
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It’s not really a question of being “racist” or “not racist.”
It’s just a way of testing your subconscious preferences. The more aware a person is of their own propensities, the better able they are to master them. That’s all.
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Makes sense. i just know i consider myself totally not racist, and if my score had said i was…well i’d either be very bothered, or just write the whole test off as b.s.
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My bf and I took the test and I was upset by the results. The test said that I had a slight preference towards blacks. I was expecting a strong preference for blacks especially since I dislike whites (Texans) as a group. My bf had no preference between the two. Which is still bad he should have at least a slight preference for blacks.
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leaveumthinking, you crack me up.
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^ Whats so funny
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That you were disappointed by the test indicating that you have only a slight preference and your boyfriend having no preference.
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Leaveumthinking,
I agree with Natasha–it’s funny. 🙂 But maybe you’ve mentally categorized your dislike for White Texans as a separate group, so you’d have different results if they were pictured wearing a longhorn t-shirt or something.
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Jasmin, I agree with you when you say the test was confusing. I took it a year or so ago and I remember thinking that. But the test said I had no preference. I might have to take it again and see if that still holds. I’m also interested in the skin tone and gender science/career tests.
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Natasha,
I wrote that long time ago, and then took it a couple months ago after seeing a link on a blog. I also had no preference, which surprised me, since I felt like I made more mistakes when it was White/good and Black/bad (that was probably accounted for by the standard error though). I also wondered if my results could be biased since I’ve administered an IAT before (but not about race).
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Jasmin, same. I made more mistakes with white/good and black/bad than vice versa. And since the test still said I had no preference, I wonder how many “mistakes” people are making to get slight, moderate, and strong preferences. I agree with the test for you — it doesn’t seem you have a preference either way.
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Natasha,
I was sure I would prefer Black people, even though I had no good reason for thinking so. 🙂 What did you expect your results to be?
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I was also surprised with my result. I showed STRONG preference for BLACK people. It’s not that I don’t like black people, but I had no idea I strongly prefer them to whites. That’s why I gave a different interpretation to my results: since white people are the only people I know, I must dislike people in general or something- the only reason I didn’t dislike blacks is because I don’t know any in real life an none of them did anything bad to me.
The alternative interpretation is that I saw all those people not as humans in general but as Americans, in which case my results shows not dislike for all whites just white Americans.
And yes, like Jasmin pointed out elsewhere, I am one of those people who don’t see the result as “having preference for X” but as “disliking Y”.
PS-Ladies, correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe they don’t take errors into account. They are measuring your reactions only on the correct answers. If you have too many errors they can’t give you any result. So I believe errors are not used in this measurement.
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Jasmin, I thought I would have a preference for blacks too. I’m still trying to figure out if the result means I don’t prefer one over the other, or I don’t prefer either of them. 😀
Mira, I didn’t know that the tests don’t take errors into account (where does it say that?). If that’s the case, it makes the tests seem a little more valid.
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Mira, I didn’t know that the tests don’t take errors into account (where does it say that?). If that’s the case, it makes the tests seem a little more valid.
I’m not sure if I can’t find the page now, but I believe there is a FAQ/general instructions page where they say something along the lines of “if you make too many errors, we won’t be able to count your result”. That’s why I believe only time for reaction on the correct answers is measured. After all, we could try doing the test and deliberately making mistakes to see what happens.
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Huh… I just took the test again and it said I have a moderate preference for whites.
How could I go from having no preference to having a moderate preference in a years time? I just don’t think that’s accurate. It might have had to do with them pairing up white/good and black/bad later on in the test when I was getting more comfortable with the keys.
I’ll try again tomorrow.
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I have no idea. The simple answer would be that the test is no valid at all. The not so simple answer would be that you subconsciously like whites because of your SO, or some b.s. like that.
Let me try again. I took the test about 6 months ago.
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Done! Now it shows moderate preference for blacks.
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I took it again just now, to see if my comfort with the test/keys was the issue. I’m guessing it was because now it says I have no preference.
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I blogged about this two months ago. I have taken this test multiple times and I show no preference for black or white people. Im not surprised by that. Blacks and Whites get on my nerves equally 😛
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Mira,
I’m talking about the standard error, which is a statistical measurement that makes sure that the results reflected go above and beyond what you could just get by chance. Basically, you can do some calculations so that you can be pretty sure that human errors (like missing two of the White/bad pairings, for instance) aren’t skewing the results of the test. (I’ll explain more below.)
Natasha,
That’s why I’m skeptical about this test–it doesn’t appear to have any trial runs. When I administered the test in the lab, it was a version that measured kids’ associations with their parents (supportive vs. uncaring, or something like that), and we ran the mom and dad separately. However, they first had to basically do a practice, where the computer made them associate mom, for instance, with random things, like a phone number, a job, etc. The idea (as I understand it) is to get an average reaction time and then measure the difference from that average in subsequent trials.
To go back to the race one, to me it seems like the test should first gauge your average response time, then look at your reactions as deviations from the mean. Without an average, the test doesn’t work, because you don’t know if you are going faster or slower than you would if race was paired up with a neutral stimulus. If I take 2 seconds to pair Black/good and 3 seconds to pair White/good, it sounds like I have a preference for Blacks. But if my average response time is 4 seconds for pairing Black or White with anything, than I’m showing a “preference” for both, even though there’s a time difference.
The IAT has been proven valid in a number of versions (but not reliable, interestingly), so I don’t doubt the test itself, but I think people have good reason to be skeptical about the internet version.
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That you were disappointed by the test indicating that you have only a slight preference and your boyfriend having no preference.
For the past couple of years Ive been trying to unlearn some of the self hate that I was taught while growing up in the black community. So Im a little upset at having only a slight preference for the people who look like me. Im scared to take the test again the next time it might say I prefer whites.
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Mira,
“I have no idea. The simple answer would be that the test is no valid at all. The not so simple answer would be that you subconsciously like whites because of your SO, or some b.s. like that.”
I contemplated both of these options, and I settled on the former. The latter I don’t think was true because I don’t relate my SO to whites or whiteness as a concept (this must be how one can still be racist against a group yet have loved ones of that group). And he’s remarked that he believes I subconsciously think blacks are more attractive than others, and if he were black, I would be easier on him (he thinks I judge him harshly).
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Jasmin, yes, that’s my gripe with the test too. No test drive.
leaveumthinking, you’re making progress then. A slight preference is still a preference.
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Leaveumthinking,
You don’t have to think of “preference” as a bad thing (I think the wording is questionable in their results anyway). All the test shows is that you find it slightly easier to associate Black with good and Black with bad than the reverse. That may be because you are surrounded by Black people and see them doing good things on a regular basis, or you aren’t close to any White people and thus have a neutral relationship with them (in which case Blacks win by default), etc. And don’t forget that the study includes a questionnaire at the end, so the results aren’t just based on your subconscious associations. Even if your results change, that may be more a matter of circumstance rather than an attitude shift. 🙂
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Jasmin,
I understand. Still, I thought they did the practice at the beginning, when they made us list black/white people on right-left and after that when they made us do the same with words. But you’re right, it’s not the true practice the way you suggested because they never made us pair random things.
Natasha,
I was just joking about your SO. I do believe this test is ok, and the results can make you think. However, I am not sure how accurate/reliable it is and I don’t know whether it really measures what it’s suppose to measure.
And he’s remarked that he believes I subconsciously think blacks are more attractive than others, and if he were black, I would be easier on him (he thinks I judge him harshly).
I think that’s better than to think he’s automatically better just because he’s white.
Leaveumthinking,
Slight preference for blacks sound like a good result to me. Strong preference for one group also means strong dislike for the other group, and, as much as you (rightfully) dislike whites, I am not sure if anybody should be happy with “strong preference” result.
This brings us to an interesting “problem”: why do whites consider “no preference” the ideal result but blacks don’t? Also, why is preference for whites seen as racist, but preference for blacks is not?
Maybe I am generally against preferring one group over the other- even the group in question is “yours” so I don’t get it.
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Mira,
That part tests to make sure you can distinguish the Black people from the White people and that you know what words mean (to rule out people whose vocabulary doesn’t include those words, I guess). But you’d still need some measure of categorizing things as a group, like Black with apple or White with purse. It doesn’t seem like the test would take into account, for instance, if you were just slower at pairing Black with anything.
I think most Whites see “no preference” as proof that their not racist, and therefore normal, because most Whites don’t think they’re racist. On the other hand, some Blacks see a preference for Black as normal, so getting closer to the “middle” means that they are “falling for” the racism around them. Whites don’t have to worry about or be aware of the potential for self-hatred.
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It says that I have no preferance for either race…I prefer to be around black people though.
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I just took this twice and the first time I took it I had a strong preference for blacks over whites the second time i had a moderate preference for blacks over whites. Could alertness affect the resultes, do you think, Abagond?
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I’ve taken this test more than six times this year alone. I always average “little to no preference for European or African Americans.” Funny bc a year and a half ago I described myself as a racist, which again, is strange considering my racially agnostic “we are the world” John Lennon ‘Imagine’ upbringing. I believe I was just being resentful about all of the truly disgusting things I saw trolls saying about blacks EVERYWHERE on the internet. I had NO idea about the way certain whites still negatively perceive blacks. Deep down inside I knew I was wrong about my feelings and I can honestly say I tried to resist for months until my emotions got the best of me. I’ve gotten over that now. For some reason, one day I simply got used to it(the racism). It was like I became immune to all of the effed up sh*t I noticed online and in my society. I asked myself, “what the hell do I get out of hating white people?” I couldn’t answer that question. The only thing I got was negativity and a hurt spirit. Plus, the internet really isn’t the wisest gauge the percentage of hardcore white racist within society(although when you see specific ideologies over and over again, consistently, ALL OVER the internet, it’s safe to assume a significant amnt of ppl hold those beliefs)
I took the test three times yesterday and I got a “little to no preference” and a slight/moderate preference for African Americans twice. Idk why. I feel like I only have trouble trusting whites when it comes to their unspoken thoughts on race. After that, I’ve largely reverted back to how I grew up seeing race. Blacks and whites are really just individuals to me. To me, racism is an illogical waste of time. And no those last sentences are not a bunch of PC bullshit. Trust me, I don’t care about how whites perceive blks anymore , so I see concealing my feelings as pointless(especially w/ an anonymous alias over the internet).
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You are racist and support racism. Read your words:
For white people who favor white faces: “In their everyday thoughts they may not be racist, but deep down in their subconscious, below the level of thought, they still see white as good and black as bad. ”
For black people (you) who favor blacks: “It showed I have a moderate unthinking preference for blacks.”
So your results are something that just is; nothing racist there.
Yet you explain the white person’s responses as being unconscious racism and go further adding that whites think black is bad.
You see black as good and white as bad. And your racism is not below the level of thought. You are an educated pot-stirrer. The worst kind of antagonist.
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I’m black, and I took the test and got “moderate preference for whites”. I was pretty surprised, because I thought I’d get no preference, or slight preference for whites. But I think I got this because of the environment I’m in, as a lot of people at schools I’ve been to, and communities I’ve lived in have been white.
I’m from a Cameroonian family, and most of the black people I hang out with are either extended family, or family friends (who are also 1st gen. african immigrants). And they’re good people. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to form close bonds with a lot of African-Americans, I assume, because of cultural clashes.
It’s not that I don’t want African-American friends, or I avoid them, it’s just a lot of them seem to snub me off or something. I don’t understand why, because I’m nice to everyone by default, and even when I get mad about something, it’s hard for me to really keep grudges. And I’m not cocky, either. The only thing I can think of is the cultural difference, as a lot of my interests shy away from the mainstream. For this reason, I also can’t bond with a lot of other people, not just blacks.But generally, I hang out with whites and asians at school. I haven’t truly had an african-american friend in a couple of years, actually. this doesn’t mean that I’m on bad terms with a lot of african-americans. Most of them are just acquaintances, really
I see myself as post-race, and care about who the person actually is; their personality, their interests. To me, there truly aren’t races, and skin color is as important as hair color, eye color, etc. It doesn’t determine who you are; your thoughts, feelings, and actions. I don’t think people neatly fit in any box, and don’t understand why our society so adamantly tries to do this, by pigeonholing people into stereotypes. Like how some bi-racial people freak out over whether they are white or black. It just sounds silly to me, to fret over such a thing. I’m colorblind, but this does not discount the continuing racism that occurs today, or the events of the past. It just means I try to be unassuming about others, until I get to know them better. I don’t already have this strong preconceived notion on how they’re going to be, based on stereotypes, or even past experience with other people that look like them. I try to be open-minded, because I’d like for other people to treat me that way as well, and not feel like they already know me, when they don’t
I’ve always lived in multicultural environments, and have traveled pretty extensively, though I’m only 17. And it bothers me when people feel like they should only hang out with people of their race, only listen to music by people of their race, etc. we’re all just people, race shouldn’t be a barrier in loving one another, and being able to relate to one another. I’m anti-war, too, because we’re just fighting ourselves… over some stupid conflict that could have been avoided.
Yeah, this was a huge rant, but basically I don’t think this test proves whether you are racist or not; it’s not correlative. I think it actually shows which race you’ve had a better experience with. and people get ‘no preference’ if they perceive themselves as pretty much having an equal experience with whites and blacks.
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Hi Dee,
A few thoughts related to your comments:
Before I read what your age was my sense was that you were a “young” person. Aging has a way of making some things more visible or clearer. As time goes forward you’ll likely meet and befriend African-Americans. Chances are you’ll morph into a persona that will have shared interests with black folks who will have also morphed. There will be more cultural connections, more shared common experiences and more potential friendships.
Your rant is justifiable though. So-called “civilized” humanity shouldn’t/ought not be as backward and foolish as it still is. Perhaps by the time you reach your 50’s, or 80’s, the world will be a wiser and better place than it is today. Lets hope so.
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Matari, if Dee considers self as a Cameroonian-American, why would Dee have any more cultural connection with, say, a descendant of slaves imported from Angola and Ghana, who would not be able to say what Accra, Yaounde and Luanda are supposed to be, or a Namibian American than with say an Irish, Chinese, Native or whatever American?
Oh, yes, I’m in the white no preference zone,
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Teddy asked:
“Matari, if Dee considers self as a Cameroonian-American, why would Dee have any more cultural connection with, say, a descendant of slaves imported from Angola and Ghana..”
When or if individuals with black skin “live long enough” in a white-supremacist/racist society, they will come to find that they have experienced or have in common “similar” oppressive, race based discrimination and mistreatment as others who look like them EXPERIENCE it. It is the common denominator/cultural connection that they most likely will share as people living in black/brown skin. It is not our skin color that connects Africans with other African descendants. It is our SHARED experiences in dealing and living in a racist environment as “other” underprivileged, non-white people that connects us.
Teddy, are you a white person?
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To answer your question: Yep, but thank God not an American, I do not identify myself as “white”. I’m native in one of Europe’s blackest countries, but there is not really a black community here, the different dark skinned communities are more or less stand alones, that is not to say that there are no intercultural “Black” thingies going on, but usually they were started by Black people from America, which suggests to me that Black as identity belongs in the USA, it’s hard for me to understand the concept: Ndyuka, Kalenjin, Zulu, Ibo, completely normal concepts to be for me. But lumping EVERYBODY from the core population set of humanity into one group and calling that “Black” is something I cannot understand, neither can I understand why one would want to be “White” if one happened to be a Welshman.
Both “White” and “Black” sound impoverished, deprived of identity, fake and above all imposed to me.
Oh yes, and I scored neutral in that test, even though I liked the black faces “better”, however this can be explained perhaps best by pointing out that the test may not discriminate perhaps not between thinking bad or good about people, but between the good of ingroup member and the bad of outgroupmember, which is rather stunning if one considers that it means that some black people seem to think unconsciously that they are part of the white racial group, being neutral about race, because you divide people differently, is OK, but considering people you share a racial classification with as outgroup?
My goodness, what are they doing to you? (“They” referring to the US -society, “you” to “Black” members of that society.)
On the other hand, the writer who demonstrated to me that in the present USA racism really is real, has to raise her children in North-West Europe without greens, which is in my vision indeed a part of their inherited cultural heritage, any idea how she can be helped?
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@ Teddy
Interesting.. in that I think your IAT neutrality results really reflects the persona I feel coming from your posts, and questions.
Initially, I thought you might have been a young person of color. What set my “spidy-sense tingling” was your last question, which prompted my asking if you were white. There was nothing wrong with your question. It simply suggested or hinted to me that you might not be a person of color after all.
Personally, I find it a little encouraging and hopeful that there are white people like you who don’t EXUDE their whiteness in the all too familiar and typical patriarchal, condescending, white intellectualism is right, etc manner.
——————
“But lumping EVERYBODY from the core population set of humanity into one group and calling that “Black” is something I cannot understand, neither can I understand why one would want to be “White” if one happened to be a Welshman.
Both “White” and “Black” sound impoverished, deprived of identity, fake and above all imposed to me.”
——————-
It seems that you can see the reality more clearly than your white counterparts in the States from your “outside looking in” vantage point.
People are characterized as non-white in America so that they can be singled out from white people for the purpose of mistreatment, oppression and to keep us all divided so that we can’t unite to bring the ruling class down a few notches. This tactic has worked marvelously well.
Most Welshmen, Irishmen, and so forth in America have been conditioned and convinced to believe that it is better to be white than to be something other. But let’s not be fooled into thinking that racism is only an American issue. I recently viewed a youtube video of some OPEN displays of hatred at a European soccer match where bananas were thrown at a black player on the soccer field.. My point is that racism is my no means exclusive to America.
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“It seems that you can see the reality more clearly than your white counterparts in the States from your “outside looking in” vantage point.
People are characterized as non-white in America so that they can be singled out from white people for the purpose of mistreatment, oppression and to keep us all divided so that we can’t unite to bring the ruling class down a few notches. This tactic has worked marvelously well.”
Interesting comments but not my experience. I’m a White British male
who recently spent 8 months working on a project in USA. A couple of the Whites that I worked with insisted that they were not White but were in fact Italian-Americans. Well they looked just like me – pale skin, dark brown hair, dark brown eyes (when I go to Italy/Spain/etc I get confused for one of the locals because I look like them). So why am I White and they are not? Why are people with Italian grandparents called Italian-American and yet people with British/German/Dutch/Belgian grandparents called White? Makes absolutely no sense to me.
I don’t say this to deny people the right to classify themselves how they want to. I say it because it is not logical. If all people were clasified as Origin-Americans (Origin = Ghanaian or Belgian or Malaysian or or or), regardless of their racial background then it would make sense.
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Well, as long as they are speaking Italian, and dream of maybe having one of their daughters defend the Italian colors in baseball, (the RE-development of ladies baseball in Europe is lagging a bit), they are still somewhat Italian. And more important Italy still recognizes their claim to the Italian nationality, while the Dutch, for instance, do not. Cases like Boyd are rare.
It has to do with the degree of connection, Belgian is a weak national identity, Dutch typically an undervalued one, during the World Wars being German was not such a good idea, and the British ones are too complicated and similar to in the US culture to set themselves really apart, so they are usually molten down.
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@Adam:
“A couple of the Whites that I worked with insisted that they were not White but were in fact Italian-Americans. Well they looked just like me – pale skin, dark brown hair, dark brown eyes (when I go to Italy/Spain/etc I get confused for one of the locals because I look like them). So why am I White and they are not? ”
*************************
Because at the end of the day, despite whatever people choose to call themselves, for all intent and purpose, Italian-Americans in America, though ITALIAN, are STILL classified as WHITE. Regardless of their self-identify, they still benefit from white skin privilege. This is how white supremacy/racism WORKS “in America” – your experience notwithstanding.
1+1=2
Italian + American = white
Polish + American = white
Irish + American = white
Russian + American = white
white = anyone + American with really pale skin
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“white = anyone + American with really pale skin”
and sometimes white = anyone + American with skin that isn’t quite so pale
in which case 1 + 1 = 3
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I’m a white guy and just scored with a slight preference for black people. I “discovered” your blog a couple of days ago and have been reading it voraciously ever since, so congratulations on subverting my subconscious thought processes. 🙂
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@ Brian
Welcome!
Did you take the IAT test before – or after – reading this blog?
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I found it through this blog so after. Would have been interesting to do a before / after comparison.
It probably bears mentioning (lest the author become mad with his mind-control powers) that I’ve also been reading some things lately that have made me ashamed, for the umpteenth time, of what white people have done:
– The New Jim Crow, about how America’s system of mass incarceration and rididulously harsh treatment of current and former prisoners essentially amounts to the next generation of Jim Crow
– The Long Exile, about how Canada used a group of Inuits as pawns in a territorial claim
– The Poisonwood Bible, about how Congo was fucked six ways to Sunday by the West, especially Belgium and the US.
– Cape Fear Rising, about a turn-of-the-20th-century systematic expulsion of well-to-do, powerful black people and their white allies and supporters from Wilmington, NC, orchestrated by a cabal of white racists. Half of the streets, parks, and buildings in town are still named after members of said cabal.
I imagine all these things are factors in my test results.
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My result said (this copy/pasted direct):
“Your data suggest a moderate automatic preference for African American compared to European American.Your data suggest little to no automatic preference between African American and European American.”
That reads like two results to me…
Does that mean I’m on the borderline between the two, or what?
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When I first took it last year, I had a slight automatic preference for African American compared to European American. I think it is because my feelings about black images are close to neutral, but certain (but not all) white images bring some bad feelings I have from childhood. The thing is, 99% of the people I now see daily are neither black nor white.
I wonder if it’s changed.
I also wonder if it helps people to succeed socially and economically in the USA, including blacks, if they have at least some preference for whites over blacks.
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Mine: YOUR RESULT:
Your data suggest little to no difference in implicit preference between Black People and White People.
Your result was computed by comparing how quickly you could sort the items into their groups when fat people and good words were together versus when thin people and good words were together. Our data shows that most people implicitly prefer thin people to fat people – i.e., they are faster sorting when good words and thin images go with the same key including people that consciously have no preference between different weight groups. Click continue below for some possible explanations of these results.
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But, my test before that suggested that I had a strong preference for blacks. That was when I was doing it really slowly, though.
The second time I took the test, I completed it as fast as I could like it suggests you should, it said I had no preference. I took one before that, but I didn’t read the rules, and I didn’t really know what it was for. But, it said I had a slight preference for white people, so I maybe that one was more subconscious, because I didn’t know what the test was really about.
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I took the IAT tests for ‘Black – White’ and for ‘Dark Skinned – Light skinned’. I am white British. I came out with a slight preference for black people and a moderate preference for dark skinned people. I know very few black or dark skinned people but do consider myself as someone who doesn’t judge people by the colour of their skin… but perhaps I do in that I show preference towards those of a darker tone. Does this make me racist towards my own ‘race’ I.e. am I subconsciously anti-white and pro-black???!!!
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Apparently I have a strong preference for European Americans over African Americans. This seems a lot like bull crap, because I’m white and I have a lot of African American friends. One of them is my closest friend by far.
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@Astin
If you’ve grown up in the U.S., you’ve been so immersed in the White/good vs. Black/bad idea that I think it’s realistic for most of us to score that way. That’s the point of implicit bias vs explicit bias. If you’re genuinely curious about yourself, try actively looking for that implicit bias as you go throughout your days.After first taking the test, I noticed things like which cashier I might gravitate towards if given the choice… you know how we always look at someone we pass in the car if they’ve made a mistake or driven slowly in front of us or something? Some folks automatically pigeonhole them based on age, gender, race. Many older people do drive slower, whether it be because they’re retired and no longer influenced by the hustle-and-bustle of a younger life, whether it be that they’ve learned from experience that rushing doesn’t help, or whether it be compensating for slower reflexes… whatever the reason, it can be rational to see an older person at the wheel of a slow car and connect the dots. Likewise, a younger person is more prone to error, so seeing a teen could rationalize being accidentally cut off. Do you catch yourself letting race play any part?
Personally, I’m now at a place where I assumed the Nashville bomber was White before a suspect was revealed… where I saw a story about a police officer being struck by a vehicle they’d pulled over where the suspect was then chased and apprehended and I assumed they were White because they’d survived. I feel relief when I must interact with a stranger and they turn out to be Black. I have done a lot of work to identify my own biases and chisel away at them. I say that not to toot my own horn, but as context for the fact that I just retook the IAT and scored “No preference”. I believe myself to clearly have a preference (explicit bias) but there’s still underlying implicit bias countering it.
I don’t know… whatever… just my 2 cents. I’ve no idea how truly accurate that test can be. What I do believe is that if you honestly look for implicit bias, you’ll find some. So, perhaps out of respect for the lived experiences of your closest friend by far, you should do a little ongoing self-examination to see what turns up.
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The test seems like a lot of BS, Honestly. I took the test as slowly as possible and I got no preference, I went fast and got every single one right in the sorting, got prefer African Americans over Latin Americans. ‘Funny,’ I thought ‘I’m racist against my own race.’
Like people have said on here before, it doesn’t seem accurate. but this is WAY off.
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