IAT Results

Figure 1

After participants took the first IAT, this question asked them to self-report their IAT results. It

was anticipated that a majority of respondents would hold inherent bias against

African-Americans. However, the data shows that only 27.3% of participants held some bias

against African-Americans. This may have occurred because Long Reach High School is

extremely diverse. Many teachers have worked with students of all different races and learned

how to overcome their personal prejudice. Over half of people surveyed (54.5%) reported Little

or no preference towards either White or African-American people. This was a surprising

statistic because the national IAT results (data from over 3 million people) show that only 18%

of people surveyed received this response. There is a 36.5% difference between the results

reported in this experiment and the national average. Again, this may have been because Long

Reach faculty have had ample experience working with students of all different races and

ethnicities. Since race is a sensitive subject, another possible explanation for this data is that

respondents did not accurately report their IAT results.

Figure 2
After watching the video and taking a second IAT, participants were again asked to self-report

their IAT scores. It is important to note that those who received Little to no preference towards

either White or African-American people did not watch a video or take a second IAT (because

their bias did not need to be changed) which is why there are only five responses to this question.

Out of these responses, only one is different from the initial IAT results, showing that the videos

did not alter participants bias. More responses are needed before this conclusion can be

definitively determined.

IAT Analysis Questions

Figure 3
This question asked participants how accurately the IAT measured their implicit bias after they

took the test either once or twice (depending on their initial IAT results). 91% of respondents

found the IAT to be at least somewhat accurate in measuring their bias. This is interesting to note

because five participants were determined at least somewhat biased, so, at least some of them

agreed with that label because all eleven respondents answered this question. These results also

show that most people believe the IAT collects enough reliable data to draw conclusions

regarding inherent bias. If they thought otherwise, they would have said the IAT did not

accurately measure their bias.

Figure 4
This question asked participants if they found their IAT results surprising. None of the eleven

respondents were completely caught off guard by their IAT results. This means that the people

that participated in this quasi-experiment had a pretty solid grasp of their racial bias. In order to

determine if this is the case with a majority of people, more people would need to respond to this

question. It often seems like people are unaware of their own bias, yet these results suggest that

people know they are biased, but do not work to reduce their bias.
 Figure 5

Participants were asked if they agreed with their IAT results so that the researcher could confirm

respondents had a sense of their own bias. A majority (72.8%) of people surveyed agreed (4) or

strongly agreed (5) with their IAT results. However, since six people were determined to be

unbiased, it is only natural that those participants would agree with their results. Since the

sample size of people with bias was so small, it is too difficult to conclude that people knew of

their bias before taking the IAT.

 Figure 6

The researcher asked participants if the video they were shown changed their perspective of the

race they held bias against to determine if a technological medium similar to VR could reduce a

persons bias. 80% of people surveyed responded that the video did not change their perspective

of the race they held bias against. It is crucial to note that five of these respondents were not

shown a video because they were determined to be unbiased, therefore, their perspective did not

need changing. Out of the five people who were determined to possess bias, only two had a

change in opinion after viewing the video. Because only five people who answered this question

were actually shown a video, no conclusion can be drawn from this data.