Peer Review

Project Implicit

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Reviewed:: Jan 7, 2017 by Psychology

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

The "About Us" link of the Project Implicit website provides the following description:

Project Implicit is a non-profit organization and international collaboration between researchers who are interested in implicit social cognition - thoughts and feelings outside of conscious awareness and control. The goal of the organization is to educate the public about hidden biases and to provide a “virtual laboratory” for collecting data on the Internet.

The Project Implicit website allows users to take thirteen different Implicit Attitudes Tests (IAT) that assess their implicit bias toward groups of people based on characteristics such as skin tone, gender, sexual orientation and race.

Type of Material:

The type of material is an assessment tool. Users have the option to complete a number of different implicit attitude tests (race, age, weight, ethnicity, presidents, weapons, sexuality, etc.) that will support their understanding of their own implicit attitudes.

Recommended Uses:

• This website could be used as a tool for students to assess their own implicit biases as part of a psychology or human behavior course. After completing one or more of the assessments, students could self-reflect on what they learned about themselves. • Because of the personalized, individualized responses required, this activity would be most appropriate for out-of-class, individual activities or assignments. There are a number of different IAT categories in which users can complete tests. The website provides a brief overview of implicit attitudes but does not go into extensive detail prior to engaging in the tests; at the conclusion of the tests, more detailed information and links to other educational materials are provided.

Technical Requirements:

Two peer reviewers successfully ran Implicit Attitude Tests (IAT) without the need for additional downloads or installations. The IATs ran without issue on a PC using Windows 10. The IATs worked seamlessly on both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

Identify Major Learning Goals:

The purpose of this site is to help learners assess their implicit bias toward others. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures attitudes and beliefs that people may be unwilling or unable to report. After using this site, students will be able to: • Identify their own implicit biases. • Apply critical thinking skills to research about implicit biases.

Target Student Population:

The IATs would work well with undergraduate or graduate students studying psychology or human behavior. There may be some limitations if students are not native English speakers (due to questions about associations with words that may be unfamiliar). Such an activity would be particularly relevant to Social Psychology, but would also have relevance to courses that explore issues with prejudice and discrimination (Psychology of Gender, Cross Cultural Psychology, I/O Psychology, Clinical Psychology, etc.).

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

A basic understanding of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination would make the activity more meaningful.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: • This website appears to be a well-designed assessment tool that is part of an informed research project. There are thirteen different tests to assess a variety of implicit biases such as race, sexuality, age and gender. A series of FAQs help to explain the different tests as well as the concept of implicit bias. Additionally, the website offers suggestions on how to use the results of the tests. • The quality of the material is outstanding. Because students get to interact with the material to test their own implicit prejudices, they will likely find the activity quite engaging. There are a wide range of topics to test various attitudes.
Concerns:: • While there are no costs to complete the assessment tools, using the website requires registering with the organization and sharing potentially personal information.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: • This website offers thirteen tools to assess implicit bias across many different categories such as race, sexuality, age and gender. Information on the site includes a disclaimer, help section, FAQs and information about how the assessment tools were developed. • As an interactive exercise, this website provides applied, hands-on engagement with course material. The topics are current, relevant and interesting. Since students often are not aware of their biases (and do not necessarily understand that they can have biases that exist outside their awareness), Project Implicit offers a great opportunity to show course concepts in action.
Concerns:: • There are no learning outcomes associated with this website and no resources for instructors. Thus, faculty members who incorporate Project Implicit as a class activity will want to develop assignment goals and instructions. • Completing each test (IAT) takes some time (10-15 minutes per activity), so it is not amenable to in-class or large group activities. • As noted above, the completion of each test requires students to input a range of personal information; some students may not feel comfortable disclosing personal information for a course assignment (particularly sensitive or private information).

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: • The website is easy to use and navigate. It offers a help section and FAQs. Additionally, the site explains the different tools and how to register to access the tools. • Taking a test (IAT) requires minimal technical skill.
Concerns:: • The directions can be a bit confusing. Without guidance, students may struggle to understand what is expected of them or what information is required versus optional. There are multiple steps to each test, so students need to know that they have to complete all steps in order to get their results. • The site requires a user to register in order to access the tools. However, there is no cost associated with registration.

Other Issues and Comments:: Project Implicit offers an outstanding opportunity to introduce students to the subject of implicit bias. Because so many of the topics are sensitive (weight, sexuality, race, religion, etc.), instructors should carefully preview the tests and design assignments in such a way as to ensure that the activities are aligned with course, institution and personal expectations.
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