Tariq Jaffar Ali
03/03/2026
Psych 360
Personal Exploration #2
For this assignment, I took two different Implicit Association Tests (IATs) from Harvard.
The two tests I chose were the Weight IAT (Thin/Fat) and the Religion IAT (Muslim/Christian).
The IAT is essentially a reaction-time test where you are made to associate two variables of
different terms, and vice versa, then testing how quick you are able to associate two variables.
The point is that if two concepts feel connected in your brain, it will usually be easier and faster
to sort them together, even if you wouldn’t say you “believe” those things on purpose.
The first test I chose was the Weight IAT. I picked that one because I wouldn’t describe
myself as someone who’s biased toward a specific group in a way that I consciously stand by, but
I do think weight is one of those topics where society has a lot of judgment built into it. Also, on
the BMI scale, I qualify as normal, barely meeting the minimum requirement for normal weight,
and I was underweight for most of my life. Growing up, I’ve seen mostly overweight people
were made fun of way more openly than skinnier people as it is pretty normalized in society. So,
I wanted to do the weight test because I was curious if being around that kind of culture creates
quick associations without me meaning to.
My result for the Weight IAT said I wasmoderately faster at sorting “Fat people” with
“Bad words” and “Thin people” with “Good words”than the other way around. Part of me
wasn’t shocked, as social media has definitely influenced how people see normal weight and
giving a lot of people body dysmorphia. However, I would also say my view on this would be, “I
wouldn’t want to be overweight and don’t think it is a necessarily healthy thing, however I am
not going to discriminate against people who are”. The reason is, we can’t ever assume
someone’s state, there could be numerous reasons for the way they are and can’t always be
attributed to something like “not being active enough”. At the same time, I felt like the test itself
also shaped how I performed. In the beginning of the Weight IAT, the first two parts had me
pairing “thin” with good words and “fat” with bad words. While I was doing it, I immediately
realized that the first association I practiced was going to be the one I could do faster. It felt like
my fingers and my attention learned the “map” of the test. Then, when it switched later and I had
to pair “fat” with good and “thin” with bad, it felt harder to adjust. Not because I was thinking
“this is wrong,” but because switching the sorting rules took more effort. So I do think the order
of the test and the fact that you practice one pairing first can affect the results.
The second test I chose was the Religion IAT (Muslim/Christian). I’m Muslim, so I was
curious how that would show up. My result said I wasmoderately faster at sorting “Christian
People” with “Bad” and “Muslim People” with “Good”than the opposite pairing. In a way,
“Muslim + Good” being easier makes sense because I identify as a Muslim and I grew up with
positive associations connected to it. But I also don’t want to pretend the test is that simple. I
noticed something similar to the weight test where the first pairing you learn becomes easier
because it happens first. Also, in that IAT I had to answer questions beforehand about my
religion and my views, which could have made my identity more active in my head while I was
taking the test. If I’m already thinking about being Muslim, it makes sense that “Muslim +
Good” might come more naturally.
What I found most interesting is how the IAT can bring up associations quickly, and
sometimes you can almost feel your brain reaching for examples to stay fast. For example, when
I had “Muslim + Good,” I thought about Islamic teachings I grew up hearing, like being humble,
having good character, being honest, and treating people with morality. That pairing was easy
because it felt aligned with what I was taught. But when the test flipped to “Muslim + Bad,” I
staggered at first due to two reasons. Firstly, I was already associating the left side key with
“Muslim + Good” and then had to switch, and second because I wouldn’t normally associate
“Muslim + Bad”. However as I kept going, I noticed my brain could still pull up negative ideas
quickly too, not because I believe them, but because I’ve seen them repeated in the media.
Stereotypes like “terrorist Muslim” or “dangerous Muslim” are everywhere in news and politics,
and even if I reject those messages, they still exist in the background of society. I could do
something similar with Christianity, where “Christian + Good” easily connects to phrases people
commonly hear such as “love thy neighbor,” “good Christian values,” or even just the positive
vibe people associate with Christmas and church communities. That made me realize that a lot of
what the IAT measures might be what you’ve been exposed to repeatedly, not just what you
personally agree with.
So were my results surprising? I’d say they were surprising in the sense that I don’t like
seeing “fat + bad” show up as something my brain sorts faster, because I don’t want to treat
anyone differently or look down on them. But they weren’t surprising in the sense that society
has already done a lot of the “training” for us through jokes, stereotypes, and what we see online.
The same goes for the religion IAT. I wasn’t surprised that “Muslim + Good” felt easy for me,
but it was uncomfortable realizing how quickly negative stereotypes can also come to mind when
the test pushes you into that pairing.
Overall, I think the IAT can be a good measure of non-conscious attitudes, but only if we
understand what it actually measures. I don’t think it’s a perfect test of someone’s true beliefs or
morals. It seems influenced by things like order effects, switching rules, and even how focused
you are. But I do think it’s useful because it shows what associations your brain can access
automatically under pressure. I think the most useful part of the IAT tests was this reflection.
Writing this allowed me to reflect more on why I got the results I did, as I’ve done IAT tests in
the past but never truly reflected upon them.
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