Implicit Stereotyping of Hispanics: Development and Validity of a Hispanic Version of the Implicit Association Test

The Implicit Association Test was adapted to assess the degree to which people hold, at least at an implicit level, a stereotype that Hispanics are less intelligent than Whites. On the test, a sample of 41 college students at a university in the United States showed significantly faster reaction times when faced with associations consistent with the stereotype than when faced with associations inconsistent with the stereotype. In addition, scores on the Implicit Association Test were positively correlated with scores on a modified Social Distance Scale. Thus, it was concluded that the adaptation of the Implicit Association Test is both sensitive enough to detect the hypothesized stereotypic belief and a valid test.