4. Trying out the Implicit Association Test (Part 2)

This blog post is a follow up after having completed the skin-tone Implicit Association Test. Part 1 can be found here.

In the final section of the test, the participant is told more about their results, how the test works, and steps taken by the researchers to eliminate order effect bias in the test. The participant can also see how they match up to others who have taken part in the test. 

At the end of the day, I wasn't too surprised with my test results. I do think that one of the reasons why I have preference to fairer skin is the fact that I myself have fairer skin. I'm also more familiar with people with fair skin since I grew up among family members who look like me. However, I also recognise that culturally fairer skin is still prized above darker skin in East Asian culture. From a young age, the associations of "fair" with "virtuous", "pure", and "beauty" have been deeply etched into my mind, from advertising to my mother's (well meaning) advice not to play out in the sun too much. In China, a very mono-racial country, fair skin became a goal to be attained because it symbolised social status and wealth - if you're tanned it means you're a peasant, someone who has to work in the fields (Shepard, 2012).

Even though I grew up in Malaysia, a country with a diverse multicultural background, I couldn't really escape the cultural baggage that linked the colour of one's skin with social class.I also wonder if being a Malaysian contributed even more to my colorism - Malacca, my hometown, had been under British rule for over 100 years up till the end of World War 2. Colonialistic ideals of "whiteness" being associated with beauty and power are still deeply entrenched in Malaysian society today. I'm not trying to make excuses for my bias though. I know it's a thing and I need to work towards being more aware of how I act and react to people around me who look different.

At the end of the day, although I might not use the Implicit Association Test directly in my project, I think it's interesting to look through it and consider its methodology, as well as its strengths and weaknesses.  On one hand, the test allows researchers to measure how well a person associates certain groups of people with positive or negative words. This might not necessarily reflect how the participant might act in a day-to-day scenario towards that group of people, however.

Another issue I noticed about the test is the demographic that takes it. Is it randomised? Or is it more likely that only people with curiosities about their own biases, and tend to be more left-leaning in ideologies would take the test? Would the demographic be mainly people from Western countries?  The test (at least the version I took) also requires a certain level of English language proficiency, and access to a computer and the Internet. This would also narrow down the type of people with access to it, and make it less representative of the general population.

At the end of the day, even though the Implicit Association Test does have its flaws, I personally feel like it can potentially be an indicator of certain trends and biases, but one that should also be taken with a grain of socio-cultural salt.


References:

Chew, E. (2018). Indonesian Media Needs To STOP Worshiping White Men Who Marry Local Women. [online] Yomyomf.com. Available at: https://www.yomyomf.com/indonesian-media-needs-to-stop-worshiping-white-men-who-marry-local-women/ [Accessed 10 Oct. 2018].
Greenwald, T., Banaji, M., Nosek, B. (1998). Project Implicit. Available at: http://www.projectimplicit.net/about.html

Greenwald, A., McGhee, D. and Schwartz, J. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The implicit association test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, [online] 74(6), pp.1464-1480. Available at: http://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/1998-02892-004.html.

Shepard, W. (2012). White Skin: A Chinese Obsession. [online] Vagabondjourney.com. Available at: https://www.vagabondjourney.com/white-skin-a-chinese-obession/ [Accessed 10 Oct. 2018].

Xie, Q. and Zhang, M. (2013). White or tan? A cross-cultural analysis of skin beauty advertisements between China and the United States. Asian Journal of Communication, 23(5), pp.538-554.