Communication - Implicit Attitudes Project

Implicit Attitudes Project

Objective

The purpose of this assignment is to give you the opportunity to explore implicit attitudes that you may hold about particular groups and how those attitudes might affect how you communicate with individual members of those groups.

Instructions

This is the project sequence that you should employ to complete your work i.e. do these in the following order :

1. Establish expected test results.

2. Research: Definition of race.

3. Take IAT tests.

4. Analyze the differences between expected and actual results.

5. Write paper.

6. Attach test results and rubric (page 13).

Establish Preferences

You will take three tests; the Sexuality IAT, the Race IAT, and the Arab-Muslim IAT. Before taking the tests it’s important to determine what if any conscious preferences you may hold now. To make that determination, select one answer from each of the three tables below:

1. Race:

No preference between white or black Americans

Prefer white Americans over black Americans

Prefer black Americans over white Americans

Strong preference for black Americans	Moderate preference for black Americans	Slight preference for black Americans	No preference	Strong preference for white Americans	Moderate preference for white Americans	Slight preference for white Americans

2. Sexuality:

Prefer gay Americans over straight Americans

No preference between gay or straight Americans

Prefer straight Americans over gay Americans

Strong preference for gay Americans	Moderate preference for gay Americans	Slight preference for gay Americans	No preference	Strong preference for straight Americans	Moderate preference for straight Americans	Slight preference for straight Americans

3. Arab-Muslim:

Prefer Arabs-Muslims over Others

No preference between Arabs- Muslims or Others

Prefer Others over Arab-Muslims

Strong preference for Arab-Muslims	Moderate preference for Arab-Muslims	Slight preference for Arab-Muslims	No preference	Strong preference for Others	Moderate preference for Others	Slight preference for Others

What is Race?

The goal in this section of the paper is the answer the question posed in the heading i.e. what is race? To do this, you should present a specific supported definition of race that you endorse. Ideally, you should evaluate several definitions of race and then select the best definition. You may refer to the definition given in the sample paper but you may not copy it. A brief discussion on why you selected the definition you did should be included.

Take IAT Tests

Log onto the website below:

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/

Once there, read the brief introductory information and then click on “Go to Demonstration Tests.” Read the “Preliminary Information” and then click on “I Wish to Proceed.” There you will be presented with a menu of tests. You will take the Race IAT, the Sexuality IAT, and the Arab-Muslim IAT. Pick the test you want to start with first and when finished, copy your results and save them. The tests are short but intense. It is strongly recommended that you take the tests on separate days or wait a minimum of an hour before taking another test.

Implicit Attitudes Test

After you take the IAT tests, your next step is to compare your actual results against your predicted results:

· Results Expected – Your expected results can be presented in a simple bullet point format. An explanation of why you expected to get the specific results you did is not necessary.

· Actual Results (a copy of your actual results must be attached to or included in your paper) – Again, these can be presented in a bullet point format noting the differences between your expected and actual results.

Effects of Biases on Personal Communication/Behavior

Using your expected and actual test results as a base, describe the reaction you had to your results. Were you surprised by them, and most important, how do you think your preferences affect how you communicate with white/black, Arab-Muslim, or gay/straight people? Keep in mind that you should be approaching this analysis from the perspective of a cause and effect relationship. That is, think of your biases/preferences as causes, and then think through how those causes would affect your communication/behavior because they always do. The simple truth is this: If you have preferences, they affect your behavior – period.

Note: Many students (the author of the sample assignment included) find it necessary to speculate on how or why, they developed their preferences/biases. This may be a worthwhile exercise but you must remember two things:

· Biases/preferences are formed very early. Research suggests for example, that racial preferences are formed as early as three – five years old.

· Biases/preferences operate below the level of awareness – Remember, these are implicit biases, biases you’re not necessarily aware of. As a result, your ability to assess your preferences based on your conscious thought processes alone is severely limited. Put another way; you can’t know what you don’t know.

Assignment Submission

The Implicit Attitudes Project will be submitted, and graded online . The portal can be found under Course Assignments immediately under these instructions. Once graded, you will be able to access your work by clicking on the appropriate column in the grade center. You will only be allowed to submit your assignment one time so you should make absolutely certain that your work is correct before uploading it to the system.

The outline is due by 11:59 p.m. on the due date noted on the course schedule. There is no grace period i.e. any outline received after 11:59 p.m. will be marked late and will be penalized one letter grade. The grading rubric that will be used can be found on page 6 below.

Grading

Papers are graded on the following basis (see rubric below):

· Quality of research – 15%.

· Formatting – 15%.

· Content – 70%.

Class Discussion

Come to class prepared to discuss:

1. What were your stated preferences prior to taking the tests?

2. What were your actual results?

3. How you reacted to your results?

4. How your preferences affect how you communicate/interact with white/black,

gay/straight, and Arab-Muslim people?

5. What, if anything, you plan to change about your communication?

The Implicit Attitudes Test (IAT)

The IAT measures attitudes and beliefs that you may hold but are either unwilling or unable to express. First, you might not always be willing to share your private attitudes with others. Second, you may not be aware of some of your own attitudes. Your results on the IAT may include both components of control and awareness.

How the IAT Works

The IAT measures the difference in response rates between two paired concepts (e.g., young and good, or elderly and good). The more closely associated the two concepts are, the faster you respond to them. So, if young and good are strongly associated for you, you will respond quickly to them. Conversely, if elderly and good are not as strongly associated, you will respond more slowly to them. This gives you a measure of how strongly associated the two types of concepts are in your mind.

Findings

Over 4.5 million people from all over the world have participated in Project Implicit’s research and another 15,000 do so every month. The major findings the researchers have observed in the seven years the project web site has functioned are:

· Implicit biases are pervasive.

· People are often unaware of their implicit biases.

· Implicit biases predict behavior.

· People differ in levels of Written in MLA style:

COM 110

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Implicit Attitudes Project Grading Rubric

Category	Excellent	Good	Below Average	Failing	Total
Content – 60%	Content is thorough, logical, well organized, and clearly presented. Contains a clear and supported definition of race. Ideas are substantive, and includes an appropriate methodological overview, and clear project objectives. Clear description of the effects of attitudes on communication supported with experimental studies, and supported with a clear cause and effect relationship. Clearly identified test results, which are discussed openly and honestly. Meaningful discussion of the effects of personal biases on communication. Includes a Works Cited page in correct MLA format.	Content is reasonably logical and organized. May contain one or two errors in reasoning. Project methodology and objectives are presented but need more thorough explanations. Definition of race may be dated. Experimental support is included but lacks a clear cause and effect relationship. Test results are included and discussed but may rely too heavily on conscious awareness. Discussion of the effects of personal bias on communication behavior is somewhat superficial. Works Cited page contains several errors.	Parts of the paper are illogical, and/or poorly organized. A number of obvious errors in reasoning. Project methodology and objectives are presented but poorly organized, and are incomplete. Contains an unsupported definition of race. May lack experimental support and/or the support is not directly related to the content. Discussion of test results is inconsistent and vacillates between acceptance, and rejection of the test results. Relies heavily on conscious awareness. Works Cited page contains significant errors.	Content is superficial, poorly organized, and lacks clarity. Weak or unsupported definition of race. Poor or missing methodological overview. Lacks clear project objectives. Lacks clear links between bias and effects on communication behavior. Conclusions lack experimental support. Rationalizes test results or rejects them out of hand. Works Cited page shows little to no attempt to format the citations correctly e.g. only a URL is cited.
Quality of research – 25%	Contains a minimum of four high quality sources. Has a minimum of two experimental studies effectively integrated into key ideas. Research is correctly cited in the text of the paper.	Four sources are included but quality is generally below the level of scholarly journals. Contains two experimental studies but results are generally rather than specifically applied to the content. Research is cited in the text of the paper but may contain inconsistencies.	Only two or three sources are cited. Sources are weak or unreliable. Study results are incorrectly explained or applied. Textual citations are incorrect or are missing entirely. Relies heavily on web sources.	Contains only one or two sources. Lacks relevant experimental studies, poorly integrated into key ideas. Either lacks correct in-text citations or missing altogether.
Formatting – 15%	Paper strictly adheres to MLA format. Format is clear, neat, and consistent. Uses white space consistently and appropriately. Content is edited for clarity, grammar, and spelling.	Paper is missing some elements of MLA e.g. a running header. Format and spacing contain minor inconsistencies. Contains a few spelling, and grammatical errors.	Little attempt made to comply with MLA requirements. Format contains significant inconsistencies. A significant number of spelling and grammatical errors.	Missing key elements of MLA format e.g. running header, double spacing, indented paragraphs, etc. White space inconsistent, uses either too little or too much space. Content is poorly edited, multiple grammatical and spelling errors.
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