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A Practical Approach to Genetic Inducible Fate Mapping: A Visual Guide to Mark and Track Cells In Vivo

A Practical Approach to Genetic Inducible Fate Mapping: A Visual Guide to Mark and Track Cells In Vivo

Published on: December 30, 2009

Implicit essentialism: genetic concepts are implicitly associated with fate concepts.

Wren A Gould¹, Steven J Heine

¹Psychology Department, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

|June 12, 2012

Summary

Genetic essentialism, the tendency to view traits as fixed due to genes, also operates at an automatic, unconscious level. Implicit Association Tests show people unconsciously link genes with fate, revealing hidden biases.

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Area of Science:

Psychology
Genetics
Social Cognition

Background:

Genetic essentialism describes the tendency to overemphasize genetic influence on traits and behaviors.
Previous research has primarily identified genetic essentialist biases using explicit, self-report measures.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether genetic essentialist biases manifest at an automatic, implicit level of cognition.
To explore the unconscious associations people form between genetic concepts and predetermined outcomes.

Main Methods:

Two studies employed variations of the Implicit Association Test (IAT).
Participants completed IAT tasks designed to measure the strength of automatic associations between concepts like 'genes' and 'fate'.

Main Results:

Participants demonstrated faster categorization when 'genes' and 'fate' were paired, compared to when they were opposed.
This suggests an implicit association between genetic determinism and predetermined outcomes.

Conclusions:

Genetic essentialist biases are not limited to conscious thought but are also present at the implicit level.
These findings highlight the pervasive nature of genetic essentialism in shaping automatic judgments and perceptions.