Implicit associations as the seeds of intergroup bias: How easily do they take root?

Ashburn-Nardo, Leslie, Voils, Corrine I., Monteith, Margo J.·2001·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
DOI 10.1037//0022-3514.81.5.789

Abstract

Three experiments provided evidence that intergroup bias occurs automatically under minimal conditions, using the Implicit Association Test (IAT). In Experiment 1, participants more readily paired in-group names with pleasant words and out-group names with unpleasant words, even when they were experienced only with the in-group and had no preconceptions about the out-group. Participants in Experiment 2 likewise showed an automatic bias favoring the in-group, even when in-group/out-group exemplars were completely unfamiliar and identifiable only with the use of a heuristic. In Experiment 3, participants displayed a pro-in-group IAT bias following a minimal group manipulation. Taken together, the results demonstrate the ease with which intergroup bias emerges even in unlikely conditions.

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Implicit associations as the seeds of intergroup bias: How easily do they take root? https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1037//0022-3514.81.5.789
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Ashburn-Nardo, L., Voils, C. I., & Monteith, M. J. (2001). Implicit associations as the seeds of intergroup bias: How easily do they take root? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.81.5.789

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