Popularity as a Poor Proxy for Utility: The Case of Implicit Prejudice
CO-AUTHORS Philip E. Tetlock
PUBLISHER
Wiley Blackwell
DATE
2017
UVA Law Faculty Affiliations
Gregory Mitchell
Abstract
This chapter compares claims regarding the scientific and societal significance of the Implicit Association Test (“IAT”) to the empirical record. The data fails to support the rhetoric: the mechanisms of bias remain in dispute and theories of prejudice have not converged; bold claims about the superior predictive validity of the IAT over explicit measures have been falsified; IAT scores add practically no explanatory power in studies of discriminatory behavior; and IAT research has not led to new practical solutions to discrimination. The implicit prejudice construct should be subjected to greater theoretical and empirical scrutiny.
Citation
Gregory Mitchell & Philip E. Tetlock, Popularity as a Poor Proxy for Utility: The Case of Implicit Prejudice, in Scott O. Lilienfeld & Irwin D. Waldman Psychological Science under Scrutiny: Recent Challenges and Proposed Solutions, Wiley Blackwell, 164–195 (2017).
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