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Updated: Aug 24, 2026

Post-Movie Subliminal Measurement (PMSM), for Investigating Implicit Social Bias
Published on: February 29, 2020
Implicit bias and contact: the role of interethnic friendships
Christopher L Aberson1, Carl Shoemaker, Christina Tomolillo
1Department of Psychology, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 95521, USA. CLA18@humboldt.edu
Abstract:
In 2 studies, the authors examined the role of interethnic friendship with African Americans or Latinos in predicting implicit and explicit biases against these groups. White participants completed the Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. L. K., 1998), several self-report bias measures, and a friendship questionnaire. Participants with close friends who were members of the target group exhibited less implicit prejudice than participants without close friends from the target group. Friendship influenced only 2 of the 7 explicit measures, a result that likely stems from social desirability bias rather than truly non-prejudiced attitudes. Results support the importance of contact, particularly interethnic friendship, in improving intergroup attitudes.
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