Meta-Analytic Use of Balanced Identity Theory to Validate the Implicit Association Test.

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Attitude Measurement
• Identity Theory

Background:

• Balanced Identity Theory (BIT) offers predictions about social-cognitive constructs.
• Implicit Association Test (IAT) and self-report measures are used to test these predictions.
• The interpretation of the IAT's zero point requires validation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate theoretical predictions from Balanced Identity Theory (BIT).
• To assess the validity of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) zero point.
• To confirm BIT's balance-congruity principle using explicit and implicit measures.

Main Methods:

• A meta-analysis combining individual subject data from 36 experiments (N=12,773).
• Inclusion of both explicit and implicit measures of social-cognitive constructs.
• Development and application of a novel within-study statistical test for the balance-congruity principle.

Main Results:

• Confirmed predictions derived from BIT's balance-congruity principle.
• Validated the interpretation of the IAT's zero point as indicating no preference.
• Provided the first confirmations of balance-congruity predictions using self-report measures due to high statistical power.
• The new within-study test demonstrated greater efficiency than previous methods.

Conclusions:

• BIT's balance-congruity principle is empirically supported by both implicit and explicit measures.
• The IAT zero point is a valid indicator of attitude absence.
• The study introduces a more efficient statistical method for testing balance-congruity.
• The archived dataset facilitates future research on attitudes, stereotypes, and identities.