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Luke Steigerwalt
UWRT 1102
Professor Voltz
9 February 2015
Journal #4: Harvards Implicit Association Test
I found Harvards Implicit Association Test to be very insightful. The data suggested that
I have a slight automatic preference for European American compared to African American. I
have never considered or thought of myself as being any sort of racist or having any prejudice
towards another race. Consciously, I do not prefer one race over another and do not think one
race is higher than another. Before taking the test I figured it would tell me that I am not racist in
any way, but after taking the test, I am apparently slightly racist. I agree, but also disagree with
this statement.
The first part of the test was fairly simple when it asked about my opinion and if I prefer
one race over the other. It continued with simple questions about how I was raised and my
background such as the race of my neighborhood, classmates, and teachers. Questions about my
beliefs and religious background seemed fair to ask, but when the test required me to match
certain words with certain phrases, I wasnt sure why that was relevant. I had to categorize
words based on whether they were good or bad and then categorize faces based on whether they
were African American or European American. At first it was fairly simple, but it gradually
became more difficult when I had to pair the two together. African American and Bad were
one category and European American and Good were another. Matching words and pictures
based on those preferences all in a few seconds became challenging and I misplaced quite a few
words. The test required me to respond as fast as possible or the results would not be accurate. I
was so focused on responding quickly that my answers were sometimes wrong.

I would

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anticipate my response because I was so anxious to respond quickly which would result in the
wrong answer.

I understand the point of the quick response is so I dont have time to

contemplate and clearly think which response is socially correct. The test wants to use my
subconscious to truly understand how I feel about a certain race rather than wait for me to choose
the socially correct answer.
I agree and disagree with the data. I agree because even though I might not realize it, I
probably subconsciously stereotype or judge other races. I have been raised in a predominantly
white community, school, and church. These circumstances and environments may affect my
presumptions on race whether Im aware of it or not. I have plenty of friends of different races
who I have never seen as unequal to myself or of lesser value than myself, but my subconscious
may say differently. I also disagree with my test results because I believe I answered incorrectly
on some of the matching questions. I was so anxious to answer them quickly and correctly that I
mistakenly pressed the wrong answer rather than subconsciously deciding on that answer. I
believe if I had a little more time to decide I couldve correctly answered each question rather
than rush through it not knowing which buttons Im pressing. I also didnt fully understand
some of the questions about certain issues such as rights and privileges. I wasnt able to answer
some of the questions with full certainty. I didnt have much prior knowledge going into the test
which may have caused my results to be skewed.
Overall, I found the test to be very interesting and well worth my time. I believe Harvard
did a good job at creating a test to determine the level at which a person may or may not be
racist. Prior knowledge to taking the test or further explanation while taking the test may help
some test takers decide on a proper answer rather than guess. I believe the test is good evidence
on how the subconscious plays a large role in racism without many people knowing.