Oh Harvard IAT, what have you done?
“The Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures attitudes and beliefs that people may be unwilling or unable to report. The IAT may be especially interesting if it shows that you have an implicit attitude that you did not know about.”
While I was taking the Harvard IAT test, I was confidently thinking to myself, how strongly I believe in my chosen topic and I would definitely reach the end with a result that I was already so sure of. Little did I know, my result left me with a little bit of a shock and a feeling that I most definitely did not resonate with.
As I continued to press ‘E’ for thin people, and ‘I’ for fat people, I thought I got this. I, myself struggling with weight issues all my life, telling myself that I never saw any difference between what is portrayed as “thin” or “fat” was left with so much uncertainty after this IAT test. It almost felt like I had a bias opinion and that my thinking was so low.
Personally, I do not distinguish people on the basis of their height, gender, size, colour. I actually do not distinguish at all. I strongly believe we are all unique and bring so much into this world with our individual existence. But this test made me realise that I carry an implicit attitude that I was not aware of. This definitely left me very upset, to say the very least.
However, I do believe, as uncomfortable as the result made me, it was possibly one of the most eye-opening and enriching experiences as it put so much into perspective. I feel more open to changing certain mentalities and accepting of them too. Having an awareness on my biases, my thought process and my inner understandings, is definitely going to make me think twice before forming opinions and stating what I truly believe in.
My final thoughts in terms of the Harvard IAT test would be to definitely take it! One might not be aware of their biases or their natural impulse that they would not want to be in touch with. It puts a lot into perspective and gives you an idea as to what you actually think. It might not be the result you were hoping for, but it definitely prepares you for what you should be hopeful for!
