12. The Split-Second Answer
Melissa Ferguson
Melissa J. Ferguson, Psychology, showed that implicit attitudes—the positive or negative reactions that are activated in memory spontaneously and immediately, within a fraction of a second after perceiving a stimulus—are more reliable indicators than consciously reported attitudes for predicting behavior and intentions. For example, an employer making a decision about hiring a minority candidate may say he is not prejudiced, but his implicit attitude might suggest otherwise. Ferguson’s studies gathered data from subjects who completed an implicit attitude measure—a computer-based measure of the time it takes a person to make a decision and then press a key in response to a word or concept presented on the screen. In one study, subjects completed a measure that assessed their implicit attitudes toward “equality” and “elderly.” The study showed that people’s implicit attitude toward the abstract concept of equality significantly predicted their degree of subtle prejudice. In another study, subjects completed a measure that assessed their implicit attitude toward the word “thin.” The same kind of scale was used to indicate their conscious positive response to “thin,” as well as their degree of motivation to be thin. Implicit attitudes surpassed consciously reported attitudes in predicting behavior. Until recently, it has been widely held in psychology that individuals generate judgments, attitudes, and actions in a deliberate and intentional manner. Ferguson’s research reveals that split-second responses, rather than reported attitudes, better predict how people will behave when faced with a decision—about a candidate, an action, or a policy.