The implicit cognition research group integrates basic psychological research, methodological and technological innovation, and public education to advance understanding of implicit cognition - thoughts and feelings that exist outside of conscious awareness or conscious control. Our group includes students and academics in social and cognitive psychology, quantitative methodology, and computer science and communicates with academics and professionals in business, education, law, public policy, medicine and health.
Research
Conscious experience provides a compelling narrative for understanding who we are and why we do the things we do. Surprisingly, these introspective assessments are often as inaccurate as they are persuasive. Much of perception, thinking and action is shaped by implicit processes - mental activities that proceed outside of conscious awareness or control. Our laboratory studies implicit cognition and how thinking is shaped by the social context in domains such as attitudes, beliefs, and identity. We apply sophisticated quantitative and methodological procedures to clarify the structure and function of implicit cognition.
Methodology, Technology, and Innovation
Theory and measurement are interdependent components of scientific research. New ideas require a method for measuring and testing their validity. And, new methods often lead to novel insights about how the mind works. This laboratory invests heavily in methodological and technological innovation to advance research in the social and behavioral sciences. With a grant from the National Institute of Health, our laboratory, in collaboration with Mahzarin Banaji’s laboratory at Harvard and Tony Greenwald’s laboratory at the University of Washington, are developing a virtual laboratory for conducting robust behavioral science research on the Internet. This collaboration of psychologists and software developers marshals modern web technologies for creating secure, flexible, and powerful experimental methodologies. For more information see the Project Implicit website: http://projectimplicit.net/.
The laboratory develops, evaluates and improves measurement methods for implicit cognition, including the Implicit Association Test (IAT), and the Go/No-go Association Task (GNAT). Also, we apply advanced quantitative and methodological approaches including structural equation modeling, multilevel analysis, planned incomplete experimental designs, and investigation of self-selection mechanisms.
Education and Outreach
Research in implicit cognition is applicable to many academic and professional fields. In particular, the IAT has served a dual-role as a measure for psychological research, and as an educational exercise illustrating implicit biases. In collaboration with the Banaji and Greenwald research groups, this laboratory uses the Internet, lectures, and workshops to disseminate current scientific understanding of the presence and operation of implicit biases in social perception and judgment.
Our main primary dissemination effort is through demonstration websites at Project Implicit, a web portal where visitors can experience IATs measuring biases toward a variety of social groups. Opened in September of 1998, these sites have attracted approximately 4 million visitors and serve as an introduction and a vehicle for further discussion. See the demonstration and research websites at: https://implicit.harvard.edu/.
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