Implicit Metaethical Intuitions: Validating and Employing a New IAT Procedure

Philosophical arguments often assume that the folk tends towards moral objectivism. Although recent psychological studies have indicated that lay persons’ attitudes to morality are best characterized in terms of non-objectivism-leaning pluralism, it has been maintained that the folk may be committed to moral objectivism implicitly. Since the studies conducted so far almost exclusively assessed subjects’ metaethical attitudes via explicit cognitions, the strength of this rebuttal remains unclear. The current study attempts to test the folk’s implicit metaethical commitments. We present results of a newly developed Implicit Association Test (IAT) for metaethical attitudes which indicate that the folk generally tend towards moral non-objectivism on the implicit level as well. We discuss implications of this finding for the philosophical debate.

Evolved Mechanisms of Avoidance of Disease and the Implicit Cognition of Apparent Disability

The sight or proximity of a person with an apparent disability generates a series of implicit cognitions that seem to evoke purely negative dimensions, like disease and unpleasantness. This phenomenon would appear to occur because of the presence of an evolved mechanism of avoidance of disease that is (erroneously) activated by unusual physical or behavioral features. A total of 157 university students responded to two Implicit Association Tests and to two explicit self-report questionnaires: the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease and the Sensitivity to Disgust Revised scales. Results showed a strong implicit association between disability and the dimensions of disease and unpleasantness regardless of setting manipulation, suggesting that the implicit association is so strong that it subliminally emerges regardless of whether respondents’ disgust sensitivity is emotionally increased. No correlations were found between implicit and explicit measures, suggesting that implicit and explicit cognitions result in different cognitive mechanisms that do not always and necessarily correspond.

Beïnvloedt de NIX18-campagne impliciete en expliciete cognities van volwassenen?

Does the NIX18-campaign influence implicit and explicit cognitions in adults? Research has shown that often, the effectiveness of anti-alcohol mass media campaigns is not experimentally tested, meaning that it is unclear whether such campaigns are successful in altering alcohol-related cognitions. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated whether the Dutch NIX18-campaign is successful in influencing implicit associations (measured with an affective priming task) and explicit cognitions (i.e., alcohol outcome expectancies) concerning alcohol. Additionally, a possible relationship with negative evaluations of the campaign and psychological reactance was investigated. Participants implicit and explicit cognitions were measured before they were presented with either three NIX18-campaign movies or no movies (control condition). Subsequently, their implicit and explicit cognitions were measured again. Results show that whether participants watched the movies or not had no influence on implicit associations but increased alcohol outcome expectancies. No effect on evaluation and reactance was found. Possible theoretical and practical explanations are discussed.

The assessment of views on ageing: a review of self-report measures and innovative extensions

This is a review of existing self-report measures for assessing views on ageing. It provides an overview of instruments, for which basic psychometric properties are available and describes them according to the purposes for which they are suitable. Literature search resulted in the inclusion of 89 instruments which were categorised along eight dimensions. The majority of measures focus on explicit cognitions about people’s own age and ageing or other (older) people. A substantial amount of tools account for the multidimensionality and multidirectionality of views on ageing, i.e. the idea that ageing is accompanied by both gains and losses in several different domains. To some extent, measures reflect that ageing is a long-term process and that views on ageing are malleable, rather than just stable traits. Cluster analysis revealed heterogeneity in instruments regarding the dimensions of Ecosystem, Balance, Stability, Dynamics, and Complexity. It becomes apparent, however, that approaches to measure views on ageing should be extended to more specifically target the implicit level as well as affective, physiological, and behavioural manifestations. Additionally, means for capturing views on ageing on the societal level and tools with a distinct time reference are needed. This is particularly important when one wants to account for the lifelong dynamics of views on ageing.

RESEARCH OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN IMPLICIT AND EXPLICIT HEALTHY OR UNHEALTHY FOOD RELATED COGNITIONS

The research aim is to study the relationships between implicit and explicit healthy or unhealthy food related cognitions. Research questions: (1) Is there a relationship between the results of measurements of healthy or unhealthy food related cognitions by implicit and self-assessment procedures? (2) How are healthy or unhealthy food related implicit and explicit cognitions and somatic properties (weight, height, body mass index (BMI), age, sex) related? (3) What common factors underlie the relationship between implicit and explicit healthy or unhealthy food related cognitions and somatic properties? (4) What contribution to food related implicit cognitions is made by explicit attitudes (preference of healthy or unhealthy food, the recentness of consumption, awareness of healthy or unhealthy food, sensations of taste) and somatic properties? (5) What contribution to each food related explicit cognition is made by food related implicit cognitions, the other food related explicit cognitions and somatic properties? Method. Participants – 83 students, aged 19-35, M = 25.75, SD = 4.63 years. Measurements: the specially designed IAT and corresponding self-assessment procedures. Results. There is a relationship between the results of implicit and explicit measurements. The main contribution to implicit preference for food is made by the weight, sex and explicit preference, based on recentness of its consumption.

Teacher–Student Relationships in Special Education: The Value of the Teacher Relationship Interview

Research on teacher–student relationships is mainly based on questionnaires investigating teachers’ explicit cognitions. However, it is also important to investigate implicit processes in social interactions, such as internalized feelings. The Teacher Relationship Interview (TRI) is a narrative method aimed at assessing teachers’ (implicit) mental representations of dyadic teacher–student relationships. The TRI may provide—for researchers as well as practitioners—a deeper understanding of teachers’ implicit cognitive and emotional processes elicited in teacher–student relationships, which can be useful for psychodiagnostic assessment and relationship-focused consultation with teachers. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the TRI in a special education sample of students with symptoms of attachment disorders ( N = 80). Expected interrelations of the TRI scales were found with a widely used questionnaire of teacher–student relationships, independent observations of teacher–student interactions, and teacher perceptions of student behavior.