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Reaction Time Measures in Implicit Attitudes Research

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Political Science Research Methods in Action

Part of the book series: Research Methods Series ((REMES))

Abstract

The prevalence of implicit measures of attitudes, defined as instruments that capture a respondent’s unconscious, automatic behavioural response to a stimulus, have experienced exponential growth in the study of attitudes over the past two decades (see review by Wittenbrink, 2007). Social scientists interested in psychological behaviour have long been confronted with the fact that implicit attitudes are both more difficult and, arguably, more insightful to measure than explicit ones. This is the challenge that this chapter addresses. As an alternative to explicit verbal self-report measures of attitudes, the primary reason for this growth in the study of implicit attitudes is based on the observation that people often respond strategically to an interviewer’s questions and misrepresent their attitudes on socially sensitive issues to impress others, or, and this is more problematic, respondents often do not have direct access to their attitudes and consequently voice non-attitudes.

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Authors
  1. Brad Verhulst
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  2. Milton Lodge
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Government, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK

    Michael Bruter (Reader in European Political Science) & Martin Lodge (Professor of Political Science and Public Policy) (Reader in European Political Science) &  (Professor of Political Science and Public Policy)

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© 2013 Brad Verhulst and Milton Lodge

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Verhulst, B., Lodge, M. (2013). Reaction Time Measures in Implicit Attitudes Research. In: Bruter, M., Lodge, M. (eds) Political Science Research Methods in Action. Research Methods Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137318268_4

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