Why do implicit and explicit attitude tests diverge? The role of structural fit.
Abstract
Implicit and explicit attitude tests are often weakly correlated, leading some theorists to conclude that implicit and explicit cognition are independent. Popular implicit and explicit tests, however, differ in many ways beyond implicit and explicit cognition. The authors examined in 4 studies whether correlations between implicit and explicit tests were influenced by the similarity in task demands (i.e., structural fit) and, hence, the processes engaged by each test. Using an affect misattribution procedure, they systematically varied the structural fit of implicit and explicit tests of racial attitudes. As test formats became more similar, the implicit-explicit correlation increased until it became higher than in most previous research. When tests differ in structure, they may underestimate the relationship between implicit and explicit cognition. The authors propose a solution that uses procedures to maximize structural fit.
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Direct and indirect measures tend to differ in various structural features, rendering dissociations between the two kinds of measures conceptually ambiguous.
“direct and indirect measures tend to differ in terms of various structural features, rendering dissociations between the two kinds of measures conceptually ambiguous (Payne et al. 2008).”
From Unawareness of Attitudes, Their Environmental Causes, and Their Behavioral Effects (2025) · cites this paper as Payne et al. 2008
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- Authors
- Payne, B. K., Burkley, M. A., & Stokes, M. B.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Oklahoma State University (US)
- ORCID
- Payne, B. Keith
- Venue
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Published
- 2008
- Volume
- 94
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 16-31
- ISSN
- 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1315
- OpenAlex
- W1968909206
- Cited by
- 401
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 42 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 26 · 2012: 26
- FWCI
- 63.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (0615478)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Psychological Testing and Assessment
- Keywords
- implicit attitudes, explicit attitudes, task demands, affect misattribution, racial attitudes, implicit cognition, explicit cognition, attitude measurement
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Alcohol Drinking, Analysis of Variance, Attitude, Cognition, Emotions, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Female, Humans, Male, Prejudice, Psychological Tests, Social Conformity, Social Perception, Truth Disclosure, Reproducibility of Results, Behavioral Research
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