Medical Student Perception of Strabismus in Race Implicit Association Test

To determine whether the appearance of strabismus is noted in a race implicit association test by medical students.

Medical students participated in a survey evaluating for the appearance of strabismus in photographs from a commonly used race implicit association test. Analysis was performed to determine whether strabismus was perceived equally between both groups tested.

Photographs of six individuals of African descent were perceived as having strabismus more frequently (62%) than photographs of individuals of European descent (31%; odds ratio: 3.85; 95% CI: 3.34 to 4.44; P < .0001). Participants who identified as Black or African American similarly perceived strabismus more frequently in individuals of African descent (58%) than those of European descent (24%; odds ratio: 4.36; 95% CI: 2.13 to 8.96; P < .0001).

Photographs used in a common race implicit association test appear to differ not only in ethnicity but also in extraocular alignment. Because extraocular alignment is a known cause of negative prejudice, results of this particular implicit association test should be interpreted with caution. [.