This week we are starting to explore how identities have been socially constructed. There is a very human and very social process that is involved in the creation of categories of difference and the values that we place on those categories. We are all influenced by our surroundings and are socialized in many different ways. This week we are going to examine the effect of social construction through a unique lens: The Implicit Association Test (IAT). I would like you to take at least one IAT which will serve as a tool as to how we have or have not internalized socially constructed values about race, ethnicity, religion, etc. Ultimately we will connect this to our ongoing discussion of the American identity and what it might mean in an increasingly diverse nation.
The IAT tests have been designed by Project Implicit which, according to the project website, "represents a collaborative research effort between researchers at Harvard University, the University of Virginia, and University of Washington. While the particular purposes of each study vary considerably, most studies available at Project Implicit examine thoughts and feelings that exist either outside of conscious awareness or outside of conscious control. The primary goals of Project Implicit are to provide a safe, secure, and well-designed virtual environment to investigate psychological issues and, at the same time, provide visitors and participants with an experience that is both educational and engaging."
You can find the tests by clicking on "I Wish to Proceed" at the bottom of this screen after reading the disclaimer. On the next screen I would like you to select the Skin Tone IAT which should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. Afterward, if you would like, feel free to take other IAT tests including a Race (Black-white) IAT, Native (Native-White American) IAT, Asian (Asian-European American IAT), and Arab-Muslim (Arab Muslim - Other) IAT.
I would like you to comment on your experience taking the test and your results. I want to be clear: this is not a test suggesting that you are or are not racist. It is designed to indicate internalized preferences regarding issues that are both sensitive and influenced greatly by social, cultural, historical, and institutional influences. Please attempt to draw conclusions about the construction of an "American Identity" from your experience taking these tests. I look forward to a thoughtful discussion about your experiences on Thursday.
After taking the IAT, I received a “moderate automatic preference for light skin compared to dark skin.” I think that this is very interesting. A possible reason for why this is could be is that humans prefer what they are used to. I think it is a natural instinct to choose the known over the unknown. Many people (wrongly), do not like leaving our comfort zones or trying things that we are not used to. I am included in the category. I grew up in a suburb of Chicago, and there were very few people with darker skin tones, so that could a possible reason that my response on the IAT was that I have a moderate automatic preference for light over dark skin. I am more used to light skin in my everyday life. In order for Americans to have to have a more centralized “American identity”, I think that school integration and exposure too many different Americans should be encouraged from a young age.
ReplyDeleteMy results from taking the IAT were that I moderately preferred light skin compared to dark skin. I personally feel like I do not favor any race over another. This may because of my background. I came from a small town of 5,000 people with the large majority of the community being light skinned. Also being light skinned myself may have impacted the results. I could see how the first part of the IAT could help determine ones preference, but I am kind of confused how the clicking the "e" and 'I' button had anything to do with my results. Does it possible take into consideration how fast you click each letter and how fast you match up with the different races? These results show that in my head (unconsciously) I see the American identity is better overall light skinned. I personally am tolerant to all races, but this shows that maybe communities that have no dark skinned residents, that its just natural to prefer what you are more accustom to. Nonetheless I found this test really interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe results I got were little to no preference between light skin and dark skin. Not sure this survey is particularly insightful or groundbreaking, but I did get the result I expected. Growing up in Burbank (I'm white), I had just as many, if not more, Mexican and Arab friends as I did white. I moved out to mostly white Minooka for high school, but still had a few darker skin friends throughout. My experience in the Air Force was, as you can imagine, was extremely racially integrated. Reflecting back, I've always had positive and strong relationships with different ethnicities. Skin color has never played a decisive factor in my life and I feel I'm just as likely to have a dark skinned friend as a light skinned one. I think my results accurately reflect that reality for me.
ReplyDeleteAfter finishing the IAT quiz, it came to the conclusion that there was little to no preference between light and dark skin. While I have to agree with this conclusion, I'm not really sure if I thought this type of quiz is really a good indication of someones leanings towards skin color. There were some questions where I had to completely pass because there wasn't an answer that I thought best suited my opinion. In that sense I had to hit "i decline to answer". However while I think that this quiz is not a good indication of what they are trying to ask I think it did do a good job when trying to make you think about your identity. I've grown up in the U.S. most of my life. But not being "white" has really never came to mind. Growing up i've been around people who would consider myself as american as anyone else. Taking a quiz like this, especially from a diverse background, will make you think more in-depth about how you perceive skin tones.
ReplyDeleteI'm honestly not sure how I feel about this test. For me, I made some mistakes when I had to choose between the separate groups because I personally have faster reflexes in my right hand then I do in my left because I am right-handed. My results said that "Your data suggest a moderate automatic preference for Light Skin compared to Dark Skin" but it also said that I also made a few too many mistakes to give an accurate reading. This quiz didn't really show me anything, because it does not really show my personal views on things nor does it show my personal experiences thus far in my life.
ReplyDelete-Katelyn Schweitzer
After taking the IAT quiz my results suggested that I had a slight automatic preference for Light Skin compared to Dark Skin; but I am not sure I can totally agree with this. When I think about myself aside from the quiz I can’t think of instances where I have a slight preference, but then again it says it is an automatic preference so it wouldn’t be something I would be consciously deciding. One of my reasons for not being quite sure about my results is that half of my problem was that during the timed portion, when you were sorting words and pictures, my brain and fingers had become accustomed to where the good and bad and the dark and light skinned sections were initially located. I knew in my head where I wanted it to go but made errors when the categories switched sides. Maybe that was conscious or unconscious in my automatic responses, but it is something to think about. I thought this was a very interesting quiz because it is based on initial word recognition and placement making me chose my automatic response by encouraging us to go with our initial reaction not taking a lot of time to think. I believe it’s hard sometimes to figure out where you stand on something like because where you want to be classified plays a role in your chosen responses when you have time to really think and formulate your decision as opposed to where you would actually be classified had you not had time to think ‘how you should’ answer. Although a quiz can never give a super accurate reading of every individual taking the quiz this seems to be a valid way in determining such measures.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, you make a good point in your notion of "where people want to be classified," which also reflects how society affects our mentality of viewing certain issues. The notion that there is a "right" answer, from a societal perspective, seems strange considering the wide range of people and mentalities that make up our nation. While this does not mean the stance that society pushes is either right or wrong, it does show how we, as a society and as an individual, are nurtured in a variety of avenues we may not even consider are part of our mental make-up/
DeleteAfter completing the IAT quiz, my results suggested that I have little to no automatic preference between Light Skin and Dark Skin. This conclusion surprised me not because I consider myself to be at all racist, but because I predicted that my results would reflect a bias towards the people I am surrounded by on a day to day basis. I grew up in a small farm town located in Michigan consisting of very little diversity. I attended a school system full of whites and very little of much else. When transitioning to a University in Chicago, I was more readily able to observe the differences and similarities between the behaviors of different races. Even though I have received the wonderful opportunity to attend school in a large city that is very diverse, I spent a majority of my life surrounded by White people and White people only. That is what I am accustomed to and so I thought this test would automatically show me that I prefer light skinned people. I am glad it showed me differently. Nevertheless, I am not convinced that this test does the best job at proving these sort of preferences. Depending on what hand you favor, your reflexes are going to lean towards that direction when acting upon things quickly. I made a couple of mistakes purely out of instinct to go towards my right. Overall, I am pleased with my results but weary about the test's effectiveness.
ReplyDeleteAfter completing the IAT on skin color, my results “suggest little to no automatic preference between Light Skin and Dark Skin.” While my results did not shock me (coming from an immigrant, mixed family), I was not surprised to find the majority of people that take this test (globally) was leaning towards the light skin side. However, while this test definitely was intriguing and does say something about American society, I do feel it is slightly skewed. The first questionnaire could easily be manipulated by understanding what results would follow via each answer. The second test, consisting of the rapid fire answers, was more direct in analyzing the subconscious mind. The differences in results among the wide range of people that take this test displays the affect society has on our thought process along with our own personal experience of where we grew up and who raised us. This should not reflect either positively or negatively for one’s hometown, but rather display how notions can easily vary even within a societal framework that tries to shape it.
ReplyDeleteThe result of my IAT test was that I have no automatic preference between light skin and dark skin people. I think that this result accurately reflects my ideas about how I view the world, but also may have been a product of the errors I kept making on the test. I know this may be irrelevant, but my skills with a keyboard or any sort of hand-eye concentration and coordination are dismal so I definitely think I made a lot more errors than other people.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the more important part of my result is that I definitely think it reflects my views on people. I tend to find myself more concerned with the manner in which people carry themselves and their actions towards others than the color of their skin or their appearance. With that in mind, I also know that if someone is dressed distastefully or inappropriately, I have a tendency to view it as telling of his or her personality. Overall, I base my personal feelings off of personality and dress much more than I do their skin color, which rarely is a factor in my mind.
I think my thoughts on taking this test is that the test seemed slightly skewed during the determination of people’s photos and the good and bad words used. The reason for my thinking this is because I found myself associating the pictures of lighter skinned people with the good words the entire test simply because that was the first category match up. If the dark skinned people had been associated with the good words first, then I think I would have continued to associate the dark skinned people with the good words instead of the light skinned people. I think that this point shows that the test will always have a flaw and that flaw just depends on which items are categorized together first. Also, I think that the order currently being used (light skinned people and good words together first) gives the test taker a bias idea of what “American identity” should look like. In other words, I think the initial association of words and pictures gives a skewed perception of what “American identity” is.
The data of the skin tone implicit test concludes that 70% of the test subjects had a preference to light skinned people over dark. This is a precariously high number as I would make the generalization that individuals would slight preference to their own race. Though I do not know the specifics of the data pool (number of tests taken and race) I concluded that there is a problem with the exam (under the assumption most people will gravitate to a slight preference to their own race). First, either Harvard decided to ensure that only light skinned indivudlas can take the exam resulting in the unequal distribution of preference to light skin over darker skin. This is a weak assumption as the study is conducted by the reputable universities (Harvard, UVA, University of Washington, Yale). I would like to venture and say that a good portion of individuals with a darker skin tone scored at, or, above “little to no automatic preference to light skin over dark skin”. This I believe is caused by the broad terminology of “good” and “bad” used to match with the races. America today has a big disproportion racial divide of income, education and incarceration rates. For example on the news today I was listening to the highly debated Common Core Standards; theoretically it would be great if every student could meet the academic standard set. However when it comes down to implementation, many fear the standards are too aggressive for lower income schools, many of which are financially struggling to supply current mandated textbooks and other supplies. In practice, the new textbook requirements and testing is argued to have a high likelihood of leaving lower income schools generally with minorities students at a major disadvantage. It is in the context like this one, which the subconscious connects failing schools which is “bad” in the context of minorities. Thus, I believe the picture portion of matching with “good” and “bad” had led darker skin individuals to get the result of a preference to light skin individuals. Another example which perpetuates the larger racial/skin tone generalizations today can be seen in incarceration rates. According to the Center of American Progress, 60% of those imprisoned are of color. And one in three black men will go to prison at least once in their life. African Americans have been burdened with the highest crime rates and incarceration rates in the country. This is known is commonly known to all ethnicities today; this leads to a generalization connection on the implicit race exam. The high rates or incarceration and crime that plaques the United States is not a “good” thing, and it is not that is the individual fault, but it is something their race has been linked and labeled as. I think the test results leads a lot of room for discussion as to why the data results lean towards a preference of light skinned people. It is a discussion that is directly intertwined with American culture today as there are still many racial barriers for minorities that allow white people to still be on a pedestal and labeled as “good”.
ReplyDeleteMy data suggested that I moderately preferred light skin to dark skin. While I believe I have little or no preference to skin tone, the data suggested otherwise. I believe this was do to the fact that I have anxiety towards this types of tests, where I found myself furiously clicking random buttons until I got the right answer, and not some deep unconscious desire to be racist. I feel like a lot of the words and pictures were subjective. In the way that some of the skin tones could either be interpreted as light skin or dark skin as well as the underlying meanings of the words given which could be put into either category depending on the individual.
ReplyDeleteAfter completing my IAT tests, my results suggested that I favor lighter skined people more moderatly than dark skined people. Additonally, the results of my test suggested that I have more anexity towards people of color. I disagree strongly with the results of the test however. My disagreement may be rooted in the fact that most of my formative years were spent in a neighborhood which was predominantly afflunet and lacked diversity.
ReplyDeleteAs a result, I was not exposed to people of color very often until I attended a high school with people of many different backgrounds and ethniciites, which I believe resulted in an increased anexity towards people of color, since before high school, I was not acostomed to other people's culture, other than what I had known.
While I welcome the opportunity to take tests like these to exaimine my perferences towards people and my feelings, as many people have noted above, tests alone will never truly predict my feelings and attituides towards people. I truly believe that while I may experience anexity towards people with darker skin color as inidciated by the results of my tests, whenever possible, I try to live my life according to my Catholic upbringing and try to be accepting of people with all different backgrounds, because I beleive in the philosophy that a person should treat someone else the way they would want to be treated. In my view, this philosophy means being accepting of others, regaardless of their race or status in life.
My tests scores revealed that I moderately prefer light skin to dark skin. I was actually really shocked by this result. I honestly thought that I did not prefer one over the other. Also, the test kind of made me feel uncomfortable all together, especially when pairing bad words with the different skin tones. Honestly, I do not know how valid these answers are because I made a lot of mistakes, not because I am racist or an unconscious racist that automatically pairs bad words with people of a darker skin tone.
ReplyDeleteI also took the Asian IAT and the Gender-Science IAT. What I found in my Asian IAT was that I thought Asian Americans were just as American as European Americans. My Gender-Science results concluded that there was no greater science preference between men and women. I was not shocked with my last two results. I think being half-Japanese (growing up with in Japanese family members) and a woman had a huge impact on these results. For my first test, I think growing up in a predominantly white community influenced those results because I am more used to being around white people.
My test results indicated that I have a moderate automatic preference for light skin. It was more or less the result I was expecting after skimming through some of the other responses before taking it. I’m sure that the test probably does say more about my subconscious preferences than I’d like to admit. Though I like to think that I do not necessarily associate one skin tone with “good” and another with “bad,” I very well may have subconscious prejudices that come from the community I grew up in, etc. At the same time, I felt more confused and somewhat frustrated than anything during the timed portion of test and I’m not sure how accurately it could analyze the results. Maybe my focus was off or something, but I noticed that I made more mistakes categorizing words than faces because they took slightly longer to register. A few times I would get flustered after making a mistake and then proceed to make one or two more after that. I think a test like this has the potential to be more accurate than one that would give someone time to think about it (I agree with someone who mentioned above that people may try to come up with that answer that they think they should come up with, rather than their instinct). Then again, I think that people are obviously prone to making meaningless mistakes in a test like this. I suppose I’m just rambling now; but over all, even though I think that this may not be the most accurate way to measure people’s preferences, considering that it is just a 10-minute internet survey, I think that it is an interesting and potentially valid way to measure people’s inclinations (at least on the surface).
ReplyDeleteThis is Grant Herrejon, in case it doesn't post as my name.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping I took the right tests, because nobody seems to be bringing up how creepy these three D models looked.
In all seriousness, my results suggested (key word) that I slightly favor light skin to dark skin. Those that know me well such as myself would find that to be incorrect. I understand that the surveyors make it clear that the suggestion is not meant to offend or insult in any way, but the results essentially tell many people something that they starkly disagree with. It ought not to be taken to heart, but certainly there's a few that will do so. This can be a touchy subject, after all.
Furthermore, where's the validity at, Harvard? 'Cause there ain't too much up in here. You want me to put my information in BEFORE taking the test? Seems to me like a prime opportunity to monkey with the presentation and order of the rest of the questions. I could be dead wrong about that, but if there's anything I know about socio-political exercises in the United States, it's the presence or potential of a manipulation factor.
Nevertheless, I did find it intriguing that the results were so blunt. "Here is what you favor, and here is how much you favor it." If their purpose was to generate discussion regarding the topic of race and ethnicity issues, they've certainly succeeded. If their purpose was to indicate to me that I prefer certain people to others based on skin tone, yet there's potential for a skewed presentation and lack of key context (impactful life experiences, peers, etc), then I find the test fairly ineffective.
Quote unrelated: "The wife is dragging me to this play, ugh someone kill me please" - Abe Lincoln
My IAT results were that the data suggests a slight automatic preference for light skin compared to dark skin. I actually thought this test was confusing and I don’t think it’s a accurate test. There were times where I would be thinking a different answer than the answer I clicked. I would accidently click a button when I didn’t mean clicking it. I also think this test could’ve used better drawings for the people; I don’t think its depicted light and dark very well. Times have changed and I think people don’t place much importance on skin color but I do believe in the past there was a bigger importance on skin color. I know for me that’s not a factor, but I also think that’s because I’ve always grown up in a diverse school and neighborhood. I do believe that there are still parts of the country, which place importance on skin color, but I believe that the majority of the country doesn’t place importance on skin color.
ReplyDeleteThe results of the test indicated that I have a moderate automatic preference for Light Skin compared to Dark Skin. I agree with Lincoln when he mentioned that it is natural to prefer what you are accustom to. I grew up in a suburb of Chicago with a high school population of 2400 and about 90% of the kids were "light skinned." So while I did not experience a diverse environment until I got to DePaul, prior to taking this test I would have never thought I had a moderate automatic preference to light skinned people. So apparently this test knows me better than I know myself. ;)
ReplyDeleteHowever, the real issue here is this test, it was extremely frustrating to take. I even took a few others for “fun” to see the results. I think the format of the test is terrible and predominately the reason for my results. What bothered me the most was the fact that we had to associate light or dark skin tones with “bad” or “good.” Also, I feel like the order that they had the categories set up played a big influence in the results. Once I associated a category with my right hand clicking “i” and the other category where I would use my left hand to click “e” once the categories switched sides my reaction time was much slower because then I had to retrain my brain which finger I needed to click with which category. Also, in the beginning I got numerous answers wrong because what I thought was a light skin tone was apparently dark according to their answers.
My results from the test stated that I have little to no preference between light skin and dark skin. I agree with it because I've grew up in a well diverse place. There was a time when I was surrounded by primarily black people, a time with primarily white people, and when there was a complete mixture of both. So having been surrounded by both my entire life, I believe it lead to the result that I received from the test.
ReplyDeleteAfter completing the IAT, I wasn’t surprised about my results. I definitely agree with my classmates that the automatic preferences are due to the areas we were raised in. I grew up in the South Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago where it is predominately Hispanic and Black so I was very integrated with dark-skinned people in elementary school and at the local park where I played baseball. If I had taken this test when I was 13 years old, my results would have been much different. It was not until high school and college where I suddenly found myself in a predominately light-skinned population. Being familiar and integrated with many people on both sides of the skin-tone spectrum, it is not a surprise that the data suggests that I have little to no automatic preference between skin tones.
ReplyDeleteAfter taking the IAT test, it indicates that I prefer light skin people vs dark skin. I was very uncomfortable in taking the exam, because it tries to make you choose from one to another. The final results of the exam doesn't respresent me at all. I'm the type of person that believes in equal opportunity, no matter the skin, age, and believes. The color of your skin shouldn't determine your destiny but instead what is inside.
ReplyDeleteMy results said “your data suggests a moderate automatic preference for Light Skin compared to Dark Skin”. However, it did also mention that I made a few too many mistakes to determine an accurate reading. I think the only reason I got these results was because I have faster reflexes with my right hand than my left hand because I am right handed. Due to this reason, I believe this form of testing is really inaccurate and cannot truly determine, I guess, your subconscious preferences of skin color. These results do not reflect my personal views because I do not favor a skin color. I grew up here, in Chicago, my whole life and have been exposed to a diversity of skin tones and races.
ReplyDeleteMy results were little to no preference between light skin and dark skin. However, I must note that I have taken this test before on a different website, though I got pretty much the same results (they were given numerically) the first time. I preferred the first time I took this test, because instead it showed photographs of actual people, which I think would provide more accurate results.
ReplyDeleteI have always gone back and forth about the validity of this test, because I know that having grown up playing video games, my hand-eye coordination gives me an advantage. However, I think it is interesting and I do agree with my results. I went to a very diverse high school, which in 2010, was made up of 26.1% White, 11.4% Black, 57.1% Hispanic, and 2.0% Asian. Additionally, 14.9% of students were deemed limited-English-proficient (LEP), and 61.2% of students were low income. I also come from a very liberal family and a very diverse family. I have an adopted cousin from Korea, an adopted cousin from China, an aunt from Japan and her half-white-half-japanese daughter, and an aunt and cousins from Poland, two lesbian aunts, a gay uncle, and a disabled mother. I think early exposure to diversity was essential in my upbringing and is ultimately the reason for my tolerance and appreciation for diversity today.
The test showed that I have a preference for Light Skin over Dark Skin. This could definitely make sense based on the fact that I grew up in a medium sized school in Wisconsin. My school certainly did not have a lot of diversity. I would in no way say that I have any negative feelings toward anyone based on their race. I was raised in a white community with white friends. Everyone in Appleton is white so it's difficult to see diversity and get a large knowledge of different types of people. The test also seemed flawed because I got a headache which may have affected my results. I'm also not certain what the results were based on.
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ReplyDeleteI've taken this test before and it has said that I have a slight preference for Light Skin over Dark Skin; I retook the test and it found that I have a strong automatic preference for Light Skin compared to Dark Skin. I think that I was analyzing it too much when I was taking that test this time around.
ReplyDeleteI think that many Americans do grow up thinking that darker skin tones are associated with negativity. In countless movies and TV shows, the villain is a dark figure. It's in our subconscious and it's something that I think is very flawed. It hurts to see that I may even have this bias in me as well, but I think it is very important to acknowledge it and learn about it in order for things to change.