April 12, 2023
The IAT measures the strength of associations between concepts (e.g. a brand or product) and a consumer’s evaluation (e.g. good/bad) or stereotypes. This can inform researchers about how a product or brand is unconsciously perceived and can reveal unconscious biases, both positive and negative.
IAT and IRT come from the same family of tests. However, there are some differences. IRT involves measuring reaction time when a participant categorises each individual word (positive or negative) with a brand, e.g. delicious and Cadbury or Lindt.
IAT requires you to categorise one item with two category labels on each side, which are positive or negative, for e.g., delicious and Lindt or positive, Cadburys or negative. Their task is to sort delicious into the positive category, and if they are strongly associated with Lindt, this should take a shorter reaction time.
Implicit association tests evaluate associations between a brand or product and a positively or negatively balanced word. Reaction time is measured for how long it takes to associate a brand or product and a word (positive or negative), with shorter latencies indicating a stronger association between concepts. This data can indicate consumer biases and determine hierarchies of brands or products by analysing the strength of associations between certain concepts, and how different concepts group together in the unconscious mind.
Of course, the IAT measures associations between brand or products and positively or negatively valenced concepts, therefore indicating associations between positive or negative emotions and that brand or product.
Yes! Like the IRT, the beauty of this technique is that it is quick to develop and administer during an online survey and can be conducted on anyone with internet access.
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