This was a very interesting set of tests:
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/selectatest.htmlI took some out of curiosity, as Alan Alda mentioned them (or something like them) in his preview of a podcast on the subject. TBH, I was surprised at some of the results--particularly the weapons one:
-It said I (this is all subconscious, supposedly) moderately associate white people with weapons (I was expecting to be neutral). But thinking about it, I suppose it makes sense. I grew up in the Arab World, where having weapons is a sign of power--it's the means of projecting it. So when I'm in America, it's not a short stretch to subconsciously associate weapons with the group possessing the greatest political power (so white people).
Now that I think about it, it's a very medieval way of looking at the subject. It also explains why the very first thing I think about when I hear about gun control, is that you'd be prejudicing minorities.
-Another surprise was the religious preference; the test left out Islam, so it was really about which religion on offer in the test do I "prefer": Judaism or Christianity? Now, my family's from Hebron, so you'd expect a strong bias against one of the two (no prizes for guessing). Turns out--according to the test, anyway--I have no preference for or against either. I would have expected at least a slight bias against one of them, but apparently not. I wonder what would happen if Hinduism or some other religion were thrown in the mix. (as to what I conscience think: I don't care one way or another. Just don't be involved in giving my people a shit time).
-And in other news: I do--shock-gasp--have a preference toward Arab Muslims than I do people who aren't. But it's not as strong as you'd think (the test says it's a
slight preference), but it's there.
And yeah, it shows I hold Trump in contempt.
So what do you guys think? Personally, I'm not sure how useful it is. I can see a person taking the test gaming it, or trolling it.
