Communication - Implicit Attitudes Project
Kuhn 1
Kuhn 8
Alexander J. Kuhn
Professor Allen J. Lippman
COM 110
20 Nov. 2018
Implicit Attitudes Project
1. Introduction
The purpose of the Implicit Attitudes Project is to explore any implicit attitudes, or automatic preferences that I may have about particular groups of people and how those preferences may affect how I communicate with members of those groups.
1.1 Project Objectives
The objectives of this assignment are as follows:
· Predict what preferences I may have regarding three particular groups of people i.e. Race (black/white Americans), Sexuality (gay/straight Americans), and Arab/Muslims/others
· Develop a specific definition of race
· Examine how attitudes affect communication
· Determine my personal preferences by taking the Implicit Association Tests (IAT's) created by Harvard University
· Analyze the differences between my predicted and actual test results
· Determine how my preferences affect my personal communication behavior.
1.2 Project Methodology
The methodology of the project is as follows:
· Establish Expected Test Results: The first step was to predict my results for each implicit attitude test that I was going to take. It was important to establish any preferences held toward or against the particular groups before I took the tests. This allowed me to compare my actual results to my predicted results to further understand my attitudes towards those groups of people.
· Research: The second step required me to research two topics regarding attitudes, race and communication:
· Definition of Race: I was required to research a supported definition of race that I endorsed.
· How Attitudes Affect Communication: We were also required to research how attitudes held by us and other people can affect communication between groups of people in society.
· Take The IAT Tests: The third step required us to take three Implicit Association Tests created by Harvard University. The tests analyzed our implicit attitudes towards or against Arab-Muslims (Arab-Muslim and others), race (white and African American), and sexuality (homosexual and heterosexual). The results of the tests were in categories based on how strong of a preference you had. For example, the test may determine that you have a slight, moderate, strong, or no preference for or against a particular group.
· To analyze the differences: The final step in the project was to analyze our results compared to our predicted results. This allows us to think about how our attitudes affect communication with certain groups of people in our lives.
2. What is Race?
Before taking the Implicit Association Tests it is important to establish a supported definition of race that we determine to be accurate. There are many different definitions of race from thousands of different sources, with some stating it is a social construct. Consequently, pin pointing a particular definition to support is challenging.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines race when relating to people as:
A group, especially of people, with particular similar physical characteristics, who are considered as belonging to the same type, or the fact of belonging to such a group.
I chose this definition of race because it covers two important defining characteristics of what people consider race to be, physical characteristics, and what people think makes people belong to a certain group. Similarities between physical attributes is what most people may think of when discussing race, but I personally believe that these comparisons are mostly a byproduct of learned mental categorization opposed to categorization based on scientific evidence.
3. How Attitudes Affect Communication:
Communication can be affected by established implicit and explicit attitudes regarding race, religion and sexuality. Notions about particular groups can affect how individuals interact with those groups. Bias is one way to describe attitudes towards particular groups of people and relate them to real world effects on communication. Researchers Eric Hehman, Jessica K. Flake, and Jimmy Calanchini define bias as consisting of two parts, prejudices "a balanced evaluation (e.g., good, bad) of a group," and stereotypes "mental associations between a group (e.g., blacks) and attributes (e.g., threat)." These prejudices and stereotypes are communicated to individuals in many different ways, including in the media. The goal of this project is to identify and analyze any attitudes, prejudices and stereotypes we may have about particular groups of people and to determine how they affect communication with these groups.
4. Implicit Attitudes Test
4.1 Expected IAT Results
· Race IAT: I expect my results of the race IAT to be a "slight preference towards white Americans." While I would like to assume that I have no preference between white and black Americans I know that my past experiences have shaped certain stereotypes that are not explicit. I grew up in a rural area that on average had strong prejudices toward African Americans. My explicit views are that I have no preference, but my upbringing may have had negative effects on my implicit attitudes towards African Americans despite the fact that I have many black friends and consider myself to be very welcoming of people of all walks of life.
· b.) Sexuality IAT: I predict that my results for the sexuality IAT will be "no preference between gay and straight Americans." I am a bisexual male and while I prefer my romantic partners to be bisexual as well I do not think I have a general preference when it comes to communicating with either group. I have a pretty good mix of heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual friends and I don't think that there is much of anything affecting how I communicate with them.
· c.) Arab-Muslim IAT: I predict that my results for the Arab-Muslim IAT will be "no preference between Arab-Muslims or others." Arab-Muslims in post 9/11 America undoubtedly face a large amount of religious discrimination. I have experienced religious discrimination for being Roman-Catholic when my family lived in a rural town. I wouldn't want anyone else to feel as unwelcome as I did back then simply because of what they believe in.
4.2 Actual IAT Results
· Race IAT: The result of the test suggests "a moderate preference for white Americans over black Americans."
· Sexuality IAT: The results of the test suggests "a strong preference for gay Americans over straight Americans."
· Arab-Muslim IAT: The result of the Arab-Muslim IAT suggests "a moderate preference for other groups over Arab-Muslims."
5. Effects on Communication
While I had expected my IAT results to be either “no preference” or “slight preference” in the case of the race IAT I was surprised to find that my results leaned much more than I had expected. As I expected from the beginning, my implicit attitudes are not the same as my explicit views on each subject. I found that people may become defensive when disagreeing with their IAT results, however my results, while different than expected, can all be explained and much can be gleaned from the results. I do not think that these implicit attitudes always affect communication on the surface, but they do affect how I perceive these groups and how I interact with them whether I am conscious of it or not.
The sexuality IAT was the result that surprised me the most. My results showed a strong preference for gay people over straight individuals. I believe my own sexuality had the most to do with this. I was much more likely to quickly associate terms like “gay” or “homosexual” with “good” than vice versa. I do not dislike straight individuals, however, and I don’t think having a strong preference for one makes the other a strong dislike. These associations are more subconscious and relate to past experience. Having a preference for spaghetti over pizza does not automatically mean that you have a strong dislike of pizza, you simply prefer one over the over.
In my research I found that the stigma surrounding sexuality in healthcare can affect the way patients communicate their sexuality with medical professionals and how well medical professionals can access an individual’s risk level. Medical researchers Sabin, Riskind, and Nosek define stigma as “the co-occurrence of labeling, stereotyping, separation, status loss, and discrimination in a situation in which power is exercised.” In their study they found that although disclosure of sexuality to healthcare providers is important in risk reduction for those in the LGBT community many LGBT individuals do not communicate their sexuality to their doctors due to this stigma. This choice to not communicate sexuality to doctors is detrimental to a doctor’s ability to access and individuals risk level and provide appropriate treatments. It was found that in healthcare providers sampled, implicit preferences always favored heterosexuals over homosexuals. This is a great example of how implicit attitudes can affect not only communication, but also people’s wellbeing as a whole. Recognizing and accepting implicit preferences is a good way for doctors to best help their patients and a good way for homosexual patients to receive the best care and disease prevention possible.
The results of the race IAT were very close to my predicted results, but they still made me think about how these preferences were formed and how they affect communication with African Americans. I believe that my result reflected my upbringing in a town with a very small African American population. Most of my experiences with black Americans are from the past several years I have spent in Charlotte, North Carolina. While there were black people at the school I went to in rural North Carolina the general student body had very strong prejudices against them and any white person that befriended a black person risked severe harassment. Again, a moderate preference for white people over black people does not imply a moderate dislike for black individuals, and I believe that my moderate preference for white people over black people is strongly related to those experiences I had when I was younger. I do believe that my implicit attitudes towards African Americans have changed significantly over the past decade and will continue to change as I get older and learn more about myself.
Past experiences are shown to have an effect on how people form perceptions of other groups. Tanner Riley, a researcher for the University of Portland Pilot Scholars, researched the effect that racial perceptions had on communication in conflict. Throughout his research he found that pervious experiences can either make someone avoid interacting with a person of different race, or make someone more comfortable communicating with someone who is of a different race. This is referred to as the contact hypothesis. The contact hypothesis is especially important to keep in mind for people in authority positions like police officers and public officials. Communication responses during conflict are influenced by racial perceptions and we can see this manifesting itself in the form of police brutality. It is important to keep these perception in mind when discussing complex issues such as these.
In conclusion I believe the implicit attitudes tests are a good way to determine any unconscious preferences that may be had about particular groups over others. While I feel it is an accurate measure of these attitudes I do not think that the results of the test can accurately determine actual prejudice, simply a preference for one or the other based on previous experiences. Experiences, stigmas and stereotypes are all factors that lead into people’s formation of preferences and sometimes these preferences can cross over into discrimination against particular people. Therefore it is important to keep an open mind to the results of the IAT tests so that one can better understand how their attitudes affect communication with each other and to avoid harmful stereotypes and stigmas.
Works Cited
“Definition of ‘Race’ - English Dictionary.” Cambridge Dictionary, dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/race. dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/race Accessed 20 November,
2018.
Hehman, E., Flake, J. K., and J. Calanchini, (in press). Disproportionate use of Lethal
Force in Policing is Associated With Regional Racial Biases of Residents. Social Psychological and Personality Science. Accessed 20 November, 2018.
Riley, Tanner, "Do Racial Perceptions Affect Communication in Conflict?". Communication Studies Undergraduate Publications, Presentations and Projects. 2014. pp. 58. pilotscholars.up.edu/cst_studpubs/58 Accessed 20 November,
2018.
Sabin, J. A., Riskind. R. G., and B.A. Nosek. Health Care Providers’ Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Toward Lesbian Women and Gay Men. American Journal of
Public Health, 2015. pp1831-1841. Accessed 20 November, 2018.