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Original Articles

Minimizing Method-Specific Variance in the IAT

A Single Block IAT

Published Online:October 10, 2008https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759.24.4.237

Abstract

The present paper introduces a new variant of the Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) called the Single Block IAT (SB-IAT). By eliminating the IAT’s block structure, the SB-IAT is argued to solve the structural problem of recoding in the IAT and accordingly, its contamination by method-specific variance. In Study 1, a flower-insect SB-IAT, a task-switching ability SB-IAT, and a geometry SB-IAT showed reduced, but still significant effects. Zero correlations between the three SB-IATs indicated a substantially reduced amount of method-specific variance. Study 2 examined the SB-IAT’s psychometric properties. A political attitude SB-IAT showed acceptable reliability, discriminated between liberal and conservative voters, and correlated with the corresponding attitude rating in the same magnitude as the standard IAT. Results indicate that the SB-IAT minimizes method-specific variance while retaining the IAT’s satisfying psychometric properties. The discussion focuses on potentials and constraints of this newly developed measure.

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