Question: Today's work force is increasingly diverse. There are more women, older people, and more minorities working today, and their companies are often competing in a global marketplace. Blanchard and Thacker (2013) discuss types of organizational training that involve dealing with differences. Some companies require diversity or cultural awareness training, while others mandate sexual harassment training. Employees who have been given an international assignment may be required to participate in cross-cultural training. A mentor may have a protégé who is of a different gender or race or who has a very different cultural background. An important part of dealing with differences in the work place is being aware of our own attitudes toward people who are not like us. Project Implicit is a non-profit organization dedicated to researching how unconscious social attitudes influence our thoughts and behaviors.

Project Implicit has created a tool called the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Here is some information about the IAT:

Psychologists understand that people may not say what's on their minds either because they are unwilling or because they are unable to do so. For example, if asked "How much do you smoke?" a smoker who smokes 4 packs a day may purposely report smoking only 2 packs a day because they are embarrassed to admit the correct number. Or, the smoker may simply not answer the question, regarding it as a private matter. (These are examples of being unwilling to report a known answer.) But it is also possible that a smoker who smokes 4 packs a day may report smoking only 2 packs because they honestly believe they only smoke about 2 packs a day. (Unknowingly giving an incorrect answer is sometimes called self-deception; this illustrates being unable to give the desired answer). The unwilling-unable distinction is like the difference between purposely hiding something from others and unconsciously hiding something from yourself. The Implicit Association Test makes it possible to penetrate both of these types of hiding. The IAT measures implicit attitudes and beliefs that people are either unwilling or unable to report.

There are IATs dealing with attitudes about weight, age, race, religion, disability, gender, weapons, and presidents, among other topics. Explore your unconscious attitudes by taking the IAT for a topic that looks interesting to you. Remember that this is a self-assessment and not a judgment; you may disagree with the results. If you would like more information about the IAT, feel free to explore the web site or click on this link to go to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

You will be taken to a list of IATs. Select and take at least one IAT and post a reflection about the experience. You are not required to reveal which IAT you took or your score. However, please post a reflection giving your opinion about the usefulness of the IAT for diversity or cultural awareness training. If you feel comfortable discussing what you learned about yourself, you can include that in your reflection.

Reference: Blanchard, P. N., & Thacker, J. W. (2013). Effective training: Systems, strategies, and practices (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.