This week in class we will finish our discussion of what it means to be American and start 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. Also please work to build a conversation with your classmates online about your experiences, commenting on and replying to their posts. I look forward to a thoughtful discussion about your experiences on Thursday.
I have previously heard of these types of tests in other classes but this was my first time taking one of them. I took the test on race and Muslim-Americans. It was very difficult to take both of these tests since I wanted to answer all of the parts correctly and with no mistakes. Everyone has their own ideas behind what truly makes up American Identity, though I personally believe everyone has the right to be included regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation etc. There is a constant battle between our preferences (created by years of cultural influences) and what is right. I think more individuals should be subject to these test to realize they do have preferences on way or another. By exposing our hidden biases we can start to work past them. For example, if someone on your facebook feed continues to bash undocumented immigrants yet claim to have no sort of bias or racism towards people of color, if they took this test they might start to realize their bias. By realizing our bias towards race we can start to question this bias. Our ideas of who deserves to be an American might be more open to a wider array of people.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that others taking these sort of tests can cause a positive impact on them and ourselves. Hopefully there is a possibility that others can change themselves for the better by uncovering their hidden biases. I took this test before when I took LSP 200 and my test result was essentially the same (from what I remembered). In relation to the construction of the "American identity," I started to think of our discussion of the "American Identity" commonly being categorized by ethnicity. Also, I have had experiences in which individual's assumption to guess of another individual's place in the categorization of their "American identity" is usually first based on the individual's skin tone. Even though it is not necessarily an outright bad thing. It can be helpful to become aware of our preferences so that we can have a better chance of being more objective when constructing our own personal conception of the "American identity."
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ReplyDeleteBefore taking this test, I had never heard of a test that evaluates your preference towards a skin tone. At first, the test was going easy. As I went further in the evaluation, I became more careful in what I was clicking so I wouldn't make a mistake and I wanted to be as accurate as possible. I found the test to be an eye opener and very beneficial. When discussing what is the American identity, there are a variety of different opinions on that. I believe that you are an American the moment you live here. It does not matter what you look like or what religious beliefs you hold, one thing that matters is you are welcoming of all other people that are also American and you are comfortable in sharing your culture and traditions with other Americans. I truly believe in the statement that we are stronger as a diverse nation because that helps us continue to be greater and better understand one another.
ReplyDeleteBefore taking this test on skin tone implicit associations that I have, I had never heard of or taken any IAT’s. The test was very intriguing, it didn’t ask any questions on skin tone biases explicitly, but I found myself reflecting on past experiences and my own background and raising on what could elude towards a bias. I think looking at the results of everyone that has taken the study, it just shows how diverse not just in terms that categorize us, but ideas and beliefs that we as Americans hold. Seeing how different Americans distracts from the message that the E Pluribus Unum article/study by The Bradley Project that shows how we have a common ethos to connect by. Being an American and believing in the principles this country was founded for and ensuring we continue to make progress that is supported by these founding ideals.
ReplyDeleteI have personally have never taken this kind of test before. With the results that I got, it made perfect sense to me. I grew up in an all-white neighborhood and I went to school where 97% of my class were white. So, I wasn’t completely shocked by having a moderate automatic preference for light skinned people over dark skinned people as my result from the test. My very little diverse up-bringing would lead me to stick with what I’m familiar with and that is light skinned individuals. This experience was interesting to see how the mind works in relation to skin tone and what is associated words to the skin tones. It is difficult to put certain words to these skin tones, but also I wanted to answer all correctly and as quickly as possible. I was more mindlessly clicking E and I rather than engaging with the words and skin tones. Thus, leading to a result that is a fair assumption especially given the environment I was raised in.
ReplyDeleteI had never really taken this kind of test before either, and I grew up where a majority of my classmates were white as well. I got similar test results as you when it came to skin tone preference and while I was initially skeptical of this whole thing and kind of upset with myself for my preference results, I realized, thanks in part to this comment and just remembering this test isn't a gauge of racism, that I'm just a product of my environment, just like everyone else is, and thus my implicit bias is the way it is. Granted, I was also just trying to do as well as I could when it came to typing, so I don't know if that influenced anything. Really interesting test though, I had never heard of it but I'll probably be going back to it just to find out more about myself, even if it's imperfect.
DeleteVery much in the same boat as you, Justin. We actually got the same result on the test. I also felt slightly skeptical of the test as well, as I try and stay was from tests of this kind that base results on such questions. Much like you, I was exposed mostly to light-skinned people in my bringing, and was not really introduced to many dark-skinned people until high school. The test was tricky in that the rapid pace of the questions probably resulted in some false steps. Overall, I feel like the best way to sum this up is as Justin put it is that this is a product of environment growing up, and that I naturally lean towards certain people because of a certain fondness that was acquired subconsciously.
DeleteSo I was very skeptical of this test especially after receiving my results. It was my first time taking a test like this. I chose to take the Arab-Muslim one after I took the skin tone test. I felt like that was fitting since I grew up around a Muslim community in the south suburbs of Chicago, called Little Palestine. I am myself an Arab however my family is not muslim. Most of my friends growing up were Muslim. The test results for both, were eye-opening as another one of my peers said and for many reasons. It sheds light on this subconscious discrimination you might not even be aware of. I took the Arab-Muslim test solely because of my experiences growing up around them. I support the idea in that how you are raised and the social constructs around you affect you in more ways than you would normally think.
ReplyDeleteNever have I ever before taken a test like this, but I have heard of such tests. The tests results were interesting and I wouldn't necessarily categorize it as true. I did mess up a few times on the "E" and "I" because I was clicking so fast, but I can understand why I would receive the results that I did. The results I received were that I have a preference for light skinned people over dark skinned people and from the friends in which I have it seems to ring true. I've always been taught that you can't have any feelings towards someone you've never met so I don't think it matters what skin type you have. Interesting test nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Gerald, the test results are not necessarily true. Based on the rapid clicking and trying to answer them correctly as fast as posible it puts a slight hindering on certain ideas or beliefs we hold. As well as the friends growing up playing a part in the preference, but again I am on the same boat as you. Can’t have feelings towards someone you haven’t met.
DeleteAlthough I had heard of the IAT test before in a previous class, this was my first time taking it. I started with skin tone, then went on to Gay-Straight bias. My results definitely reflected the location of my upbringing, and the values my parents passed on to me. For the Skin tone test, I ended up with a slight preference for light skin over dark skin. This definitely reflects the community I grew up in, which was mostly white and conservative. The attitude people had towards people of color in my hometown are definitely reflected in my results, although my parents taught me otherwise. In terms of the Gay-Straight test, I had a strong automatic preference for gay people over straight people, which reflects what my parents taught me all my life, plus how many people I knew who were LGBTQ. They had gay and lesbian friends, my uncle has a brother who is gay, and I had a few bisexual, trans, and queer friends in high school. While my community, being conservative, generally took issue with gay marriage, and people who came out were bullied in school, my exposure to people who are gay, lesbian, bi, trans, and queer definitely overrode my community's bias against gay people. When it comes to American Identity, I think the IAT test shows that our community definitely has influence over our attitudes towards people, whether we realize it or not. However, I do think that personal and continued experience with different types of people can relieve what bias we might have against them, and tests like this can definitely help expose negative implicit biases so we can work towards equality for all.
ReplyDeleteBefore today, I had never heard of IAT tests. I was initially eager to try it out because I trusted it to give a fair test of our preferences. Although I don't completely disagree with my results, I find the test itself to be a little confusing. It seems to set users up for a result leaning toward favoring light-skinned people because we are initially conditioned to associate light-skinned with good. The switch of the keys began to grow confusing as the rounds progressed and i began reverting back to what was first showed to me. Criticism aside, I'm glad this test exists so people can become aware of their biases as we move forward into a more equal society.
ReplyDeleteI definitely am skeptical about the way the test starts by attributing "bad" with "dark skin". It could skew results in favor of associating light skin with good in the next rounds. However, I think the test might place more emphasis on the time it takes to categorize good vs bad words words and light skin faces vs dark skin faces, instead of placing emphasis on wrong answers. That could help correct what skew there is by starting out associating light skin and good.
DeleteBeyond that though, I also agree that this test could help people come aware of their implicit biases, whether those biases are negative towards dark skinned people or light skinned people. Being aware of our biases aids our self-reflection, and might aid our reflection on the way we were taught as well, hopefully making a recipe for lasting, positive change.
I completely agree with your critique of the test structure. I’m sure that if the test had started out with dark skin and good in the same key, my results would’ve been different. My result was “slight automatic preference for light skinned people over dark skinned people.” I don’t think this can be explained with my upbringing, as I was raised in an overwhelmingly Asian community with folks for many different shades of skin tones. I think that if the test had been structured differently, I wouldn’t have messed up as much as I did. Maybe that’s the point of the test, but I still think that starting the test out with dark skin/bad being the first section should be a driving force of skepticism.
DeleteAt first I was interested in trying this IAT test, but as I went through the test I felt uncomfortable about categorizing skin tones next to negative words. It’s true that we all had to categorize both of the skin tones next to positive and negative words, but I felt like a jerk for categorizing both skin tones next to words like “ugly”. My results stated that I have a moderate preference for dark skinned people over light skinned people. I think this test relates to the construction of American identity because it demonstrates the open arms that are a part of America’s identity. For the test to have it so we place negative and positive words next to both dark skin and light skin faces could means how both skin colors can not be classified as only good or bad. Thus, it might be that the test is saying that how America does not see color to describe a person’s character, which is why America opens its arm to everybody around the world no matter what they look like.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the test I have no automatic preference between dark and light skinned people. In the first rounds of the word/facial association phase I was, as many of my classmates were, a little confused by their placement of "bad" words with dark skinned faces, but as they were switched in the second round, I ended up concluding this was probably to see in difference in answers once they were reversed.
ReplyDeleteI believe that although it is not perfect, the skin tone IAT succeeds in bringing some attention to the internal biases that we, even as Americans, carry with us. I think this is an important conversation to have in our world today, as people of different backgrounds and cultures have contact with one another like never before.
I think what this test attempts to do is clever. By urging the respondent to go as fast as possible they are clearly trying to uncover implicit biases that we might hold. However I feel that by beginning with light skinned people associated with good words and then flipping the side in the second half, the result of preferring light skinned people is at least somewhat "cooked in" as of course it will be more difficult the second time around. I tried the test multiple times to see if the starting position was randomized, and it is not. I wish it was more scientific in this respect.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think there is still probably truth to this test and someone's gut reaction may reveal implicit bias. I had the result of associating good words with light-skinned faces. As others have stated it is most likely because I grew up in rural Missouri with an overwhelmingly white population. These formative years can definitely influence someone's conception of America's identity and their own.
Thats interesting because the starting position was flipped for me. I had dark-skinned associated with good words and light with bad for the first section. Maybe it had something to do with the demographics questions.
DeleteOkay, I'm glad to hear that. That is an interesting theory, maybe I haven't looked into it enough, but perhaps they have their methodology written out somewhere. I'm curious if they put any thought into the fact that it would just be harder in general to disassociate the two factors presented in the original combination.
DeleteIn taking this test, I was slightly surprised to find that I had a slight preference for lighter skin tones than darker, despite growing up in a South Asian family. When I thought more about my results, however, I realized that growing up in a mostly white suburb, attending a majority white high school, and having close white friends likely affected my perceptions of skin tone. I think this proves that an “American Identity” is likelier constructed through relationships with the people you live near and the environment you grow up in, and that if one lives in the United States and forms attachments in their community, that’s enough to make them American.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you, Hadiya. Our past experiences in life in terms of how/where we were raised greatly affects our predispositions to associating good and bad things with different skin tones. As unjustly founded as it may be, unfortunately it is reality, but understanding such biases are an extremely important step to fixing issues of racism in our country, and finding the roots of these notions.
DeleteUnsurprisingly, I ended with results that I have a strong automatic preference for dark-skinned people. The reason I expected this outcome is because I am considered a dark-skinned person by most people outside my race; my family is comprised of dark-skinned people with the exception of my paternal grandmother. While my neighborhoods and schools were composed of mostly light-skinned (White) people, I still have always trusted dark-skinned people more. Societally, in the U.S. and around the globe, dark-skinned people are thought of as lesser and oppressed. It is a facet that exist everywhere. When you live in a world that is built to make light-skinned people feel and be more successful, you learn to trust those who will experience the same type of oppression as me instead of the people who I view as the oppressors. The U.S. has had these types of sentiments from its founding, and it continues to persist today. Systems and media have further worked to perpetuate the belief the dark-skinned people are lesser. The “American identity” has been built with this in mind as well. When people think of an “American” they aren’t going to think about a dark-skinned person because that’s not the ideal visual.
ReplyDeleteI took the Skin Tone and Arab-Muslim IAT, and even though I question how accurate the tests are at determining your racial or ethnic preferences, I found them to be very interesting. My results were that I slightly preferred other people over dark skinned people or Muslims. I was unsurprised by my results given how most of my social interactions and environment most of my life has been with a majority of light-skinned people. Also given with the fact that it is in human nature to naturally create hierarchies among themselves and judge others based on the culture and norms that they are comfortable with, thus naturally preferring people who are more similar to them. However I think that in society as a whole constructs the idea of a social inequality between light-skinned and dark-skinned people mostly through education and especially the media. While I was taking this test I was reminded of a video of a scientific study I watched a while ago where a group of young children, both light-skinned and dark-skinned, were sat down in a room one by one and shown a picture of a light-skinned person and a dark-skinned person. The children were asked who they thought "the good guy" and who "the bad guy" were. Almost every single child chose the light-skinned person as "the good guy" and the dark-skinned person as "the bad guy", and the dark-skinned children answered the same way. Basically, what the study was trying to show was that society perpetuates this idea that being light-skinned is good while being dark-skinned is bad, and even dark-skinned children are brought up in a world where they are institutionalized to believe that they are inferior and disadvantaged. This goes against what most Americans believe is a true American Ideal, that everyone and anyone should be able to achieve greatness no matter the race, religion, or sexuality.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that our commercial culture often feeds people's biases. Like yourself, I thought of studies with young girls who were asked what doll they would like to play with and why. Almost all chose the lightest skinned doll because she was the "prettiest" and the others looked "dirty", even the dark-skinned children!
DeleteMy results showed a slight preference for light skinned people over dark skinned people. I found the test to be interesting but having the test start off by associating good things with light skin tones seemed to be certainly planned to show how words can be associated to race/ethnicity. In that respect, I wish it was a little longer or more in-depth, but I certainly see how the results can be accurate to an extent. Where, when and how someone grows up greatly affects these automated or unconscious ideas/beliefs, hence the test asking for your current zip code, and for the zip code in which you resided the longest. Naturally, if you grow up in an area that is primarily "one race", you would undoubtedly have an internal bias towards or against a certain skin tone, or at least would be more comfortable around people of the same skin tone. All in all, it was an interesting test that was able to show implicit preferences.
ReplyDeleteI think you make very interesting points. I do agree with you that it would have been nice to have this test to be more in-depth. I also thought you made a good point about how the test asked for zip code, I never thought about how zip code could possibly be used as a way to analyze the races and ethnicities within a person's area to test for preferences.
DeleteBefore today I had never heard of this test. I think it may want to point out that we might have certain biases even if we aren’t fully aware of them. I went to a school that was almost completely white. However, I had many friends of different races and religions through sports and other things like that. I’ve always looked at the character of people rather than to judge them based off their color. The test said that I had a slight preference toward lighter skin tones which surprised me to some degree, but it would also make sense based off my upbringing in a primarily white school system. Obviously we know our own personal beliefs better than the test does, but I think it could shed some light on the way we think.
ReplyDeleteMy result was not necessarily surprising: a slight preference for light skinned people. I do think the structure of the test itself could be a factor. It begins by associating good traits with light skinned people, and then it switches. Of course, my responses were a little slower the second time around as I adjusted to that. However, I do think subconscious racial biases are very real. People are more likely to trust those who look like them, and I know that is true in my case. Having lived in predominantly-white, affluent, conservative areas all my life, I sometimes must consciously work to counteract biases I grew up with.
ReplyDeleteDo you think the result stems from childhood exposure to dark-skinned people? Or do you think it has more to do with the media's portrayal of dark-skinned people?
DeleteBefore receiving this assignment I had never heard of an IAT test before. I question the validity and accuracy of the test themselves. It seems that there is a large possibility for human error when taking the test because at times I would click the wrong buttons even on the control test just because of the quickness at which I was clicking. Although I do not know of any other testing methods that could be useful. I also feel that some of the pictures were very subjective because people’s view of skin tone being light or dark might be very personal and differ person to person, so there should technically be no wrong answer then. I do see how matching either positive or negative words to a face could be very enlightening to skin tone biases. I received a no preference for the skin tone test, which surprised me base off only the fact that I accidently flipped and E and I a couple times, but I do feel like it accurately represents my personal preferences. In class we had gone over some of the ideals and values Americans think that people should have to be American. Having Christian values or faith polled fairly high which surprised me, so I took the religion IAT to see if I was more inclined to favor any religious values. The results were I had preference towards Judaism compared to Islam, no mention of Christianity in the results. I suppose this could mean I am most comfortable with Christianity and Judaism because I have been surrounded with those religions my whole life and not much firsthand experience with Islam. This could be the case for most Americans and could be the reason why many Americans see Christian values as being so important.
ReplyDeleteI had taken this test once before, and had gotten a moderate preference for white people over black people, so I was not that surprised that I got it again, despite however focused I was this time. I grew up in an area and school district that was maybe 95% white, with very few black families or kids in my school. So that must have had a great influence on the result of this test. As we are products of our environments, as many others in this blog have said. I did take one issue with the test. As the test began with white and good being "E" and then black and bad being "I", it created a bit of muscle memory which may have influenced the results when the options were switched. Either way, I thought this was a good test to take early on in the course.
ReplyDeleteI also grew up in an extremely affluent suburb that was home to majority white families, and my school was made up of roughly the same percent of white students, if not higher. Although my results "little to no automatic preference between skin tones." I believe this may be due to the fact that aside from my own district which lacked diversity my all means, I did have a great deal of close friends from other areas and schools, many of whom were people of color. I'm not sure if my interactions with other communities more diverse than my own had any effect on my results, but it could be a reason.
DeleteMy experience with the IAT Test was very interesting. My results came out to a moderate automatic preference for Dark Skinned People over Light Skinned People. Taking the test in the beginning, like many of you, I was a little confused over the keyboard part. Putting one finder on E and the other on I and placing the 4 categories I found a bit challenging. After the first few rounds, I understood a little bit more their want for me to place bad and good words with certain skin tones. This especially made more sense to me after I got my results and it was explained that they based this on the time it took you to respond. The questions about my age, where I grew up and occupation I was able to grasp right away because I figured it was to see what kind of place I had grown up in, as it followed with where you leaned on political stances. Overall, I would say that the concept of the test was very new to me and though it makes sense, I’m a little skeptical that it is entirely accurate as it is a very short test that I think people could calculate after they’d taken it once.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of or taken a test like this before. The setup itself was very interesting to me, but while taking it I was a bit unsure as to how it would actually determine any underlying opinions on race. I When I saw the results however, I think they do accurately represent the views of many Americans. I grew up in a predominantly white environment both here in the United States and overseas. When I first came to DePaul, one of my first classes dealt with the gentrification of the south side of Chicago (near 47th street), where low income minority residents are being forced to move from their homes for higher class white residents. I remember having subconscious biases then and feeling uncomfortable in that situation, simply by being in a different environment. Since then, I can say I feel fully immersed in a very diverse city for the first time in my life. Just living in Chicago has changed my viewpoints. My comfort level adjusted with time and exposure to diversity itself. How we view the American identity, I feel, is greatly influenced by the outside influences of where we are from. The idea of “American Identity” is malleable for everyone, especially as we are exposed to other people, ideals, and viewpoints during the course of our lives.
ReplyDeleteI have not previously taken any IAT tests and was skeptical of the skin tone test before I took it.
ReplyDeleteWhile I made some mistakes during it, I wasn’t surprised by my results. The test said I have a slight preference for light skinned people over dark skinned people. My implicit bias certainly has to do with where I grew up and the lack of diversity there. Truly, I could name all of the non-white people I grew up with on one hand. If anything, I think being aware of your implicit racial bias is positive for self-growth. If you understand how you perceive others then, hopefully, that will inspire you to become more mindful and compassionate in your perceptions. Even if you do have a subconscious preference to one skin tone or another, that does not have to affect how you treat any particular race.
I have never taken one of these IAT tests, and actually didn't know this was a thing. I thought it was a very interesting study and think the concept is overall hard to test, but this did a good job of doing so. The test said I had no preference, but at the same time I was able to see the effect the test had on me. Society definitely has certain connotations towards race, and this test had an interesting way of showing specific mindsets someone may have. While it does show this preference, I think the major thing someone can take away from this is being conscious of their preferences and can help them become more mindful.
ReplyDeleteI have never taken any IAT test before and was a little hesitant at first but during the test I could see how it works. I wasn't too surprised by my results, that I have a slight preference for light skinned people over dark skinned people based on the fact that I grew up in the Northern suburbs of Illinois where the majority of my peers from 5th grade - 12th were predominantly white. When I first started the test I was afraid that the results would show something about myself that I possibly didn't know but I'm glad to see that I'm honest with myself and acknowledge my faults.
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ReplyDeleteI, myself, had never taken an IAT test prior to this, and while I was intrigued with the concept of the test, within the first couple of questions I found myself feeling uneasy about the word-to-skin tone association. It was figured that I have a preference for the light-skinned demographic over people of color. In regards to my test results, I share in my theory with many of my fellow classmates, in saying that the region in which you grew up can be largely attributed to the aforementioned results. A statement that resonated quite strongly with me includes Alexander Bakos' transition from a predominately white environment to an abundantly diverse city. I, too, was raised in a very affluent city in Michigan, where the notion of diversity was entirely foreign to my high school and surrounding neighborhoods. I don't necessarily resent these results, though I certainly don't feel as if they depict an accurate measure of my personal ideology concerning race. I feel that it also also critical to acknowledge that biases are often times subconscious and inevitable. Rather than accepting a sense of guilt after a seemingly inaccurate test result, I feel that it is more beneficial to utilize it as a means to proactively disprove those biases in your everyday life.
ReplyDeleteThis is my second time taking this test and the second time getting results back saying I have "no automatic preference between dark skinned people and light skinned people." In both cases I feel that it's an accurate representation of how I view people. When I first took this test I expected to have some sort of bias, coming from a predominantly white affluent suburb, but I was pleasantly surprised to see my results. I think it's understandable that most people have some sort of bias, but I also feel it's part of the American ideal to judge people more on their merit than on the color of their skin. While this test may not be perfect, I think it helps people to at least get an idea of a bias they might possess and work to not allow it to influence them too much.
ReplyDeleteI have taken a similar test in the psychology department at my previous university where quick word associations would reveal implicit biases about race. However, in that case I was a subject for a project and was unable to see my following results. While taking the tests I didn’t quite understand how switching the left and right sides for different words would reveal an association in skin tone, but I suppose my results reflect my upbringing. I grew up in a fairly homogeneous, white neighborhood and I feel like my results of a slight preference reflect that. I think this is a useful exercise to show that even if you don’t consider yourself to think about the way society represents skin tone or race, almost everyone has an implicit bias that may affect how they view other people.
ReplyDeleteLike most of my peers, I had never taken an IAT test prior to this and I had no idea it existed. I ended up getting the result saying that I had no automatic preference between dark and light skinned people. I feel that this is an accurate representation of how I view people. Coming from the south side, I was exposed to people of all backgrounds, and grew up in a diverse neighborhood. I took another test, one on if I favored straight or LGBT people. It came back saying I moderately favored LGBT people. That makes sense considering I identify as pansexual. I just thought it was interesting that I had this bias and it matched my identity. I suppose this is why the percentage of Americans saying that part of the American identity is being a Christian, since that is the majority religion of the country currently. I think identity and bias influences how Americans view what it means to be an American and why this concept is so abstract.
ReplyDeleteI have never taken or heard of the IAT tests before. Before I took it I believed that I would have the same outcome. I had Little to no automatic preference between skin tones. I was a bit skeptical, If I would have gone a bit faster I would have gotten slightly preference for light skin compared to dark skin. However, in my head I feel like certain words did trigger a kind of bias. Not all were dark “bad” and Light “good” it was mixed. Being Latina, I know for a fact that in latino/a television you see a lot more of the light skins being prosperous and wealthy. The darker skins are always poor and uneducated. So society already forms that kind of thought in ones thought process. Since we are in a very diverse time, I feel like there is a lot of everything so it is not as hard to not have a preference. I grew up in a diverse neighborhood, so maybe that is what influenced my outcome.
ReplyDeleteI believe that currently one of the most important challenges to higher education in the United States is the increasing cost of college tuition, especially when put into perspective with the accessibility to final aid and the burden of student debt. Although tuition keeps rising, opportunities for government assistance are not following this trend, putting students in a tough spot where at such a young age they must decide if this so-called investment is necessary and worth the financial strain put on themselves and possibly their families. When making that decision, they must account for the actual benefits of higher education in the job market since as bachelor degrees became more common in modern society, it lost some of its relative value before employers, leading more people to pursue an additional degree to have a competitive edge. Also, today’s new technological innovations present a challenge for the traditional college education as people have innumerable sources of information to pull from. However, I think that the experience of going to college opens a door for many people to dare to think and act differently than how they were raised and expected to by those around them. For that reason, I do think that colleges have become too politically correct because that is not the path to expanding your view of the world, for better or worse, you need to be exposed to opposition so you can reflect on it and evolve your own beliefs and values. Being an international student myself, I appreciate the unique opportunity the American college system gives students to freely explore their interests before declaring a major, and going to college in such a polarized country has made me more thoughtful of every-day politics and the role of the individual.
ReplyDelete