What do we learn from the Implicit Association Test about intergroup attitudes in Hong Kong? the case of social identification inclusiveness and need for closure

Abstract

The current study tests an implication of the Associative-Propositional Evaluation model of implicit and explicit attitude measures in Hong Kong's intergroup context. We argued that the Implicit Association Test taps associative intergroup evaluations that are not necessarily consistent with the propositional implications of one's social identification inclusiveness and need for closure. In contrast, explicit intergroup attitude measures tap propositional evaluations resulting from validating the inferences drawn from pertinent propositional information in the evaluation context. Thus, explicit intergroup attitude should be consistent with the propositional implications of social identification inclusiveness and need for closure. We tested and found support for these hypotheses in a study of Hong Kong adolescents' (N = 65) perception of Hong Kong people and Mainland Chinese. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd with the Asian Association of Social Psychology and the Japanese Group Dynamics Association 2007.