By Carli Friedman, CQL Director of Research
We all have two types of attitudes, explicit (attitudes we are conscious of) and implicit (unconscious attitudes). It’s pretty common that our implicit attitudes may be different than we think, sometimes revealing biases we didn’t know we had. The more we know about how we think, the better equip we are to improve our attitudes! Implicit association tests (IATs) are one way to look at the unconscious associations we make. The intersecting disability and race IAT (IDRA-IAT) is a way to find out the unconscious associations you may make about nondisabled white people, disabled white people, nondisabled people of color, and disabled people of color. There is also the option to take the intersecting disability and gender IAT (IDGA-IAT) we are piloting at the link below.
Frequently Asked Questions
What will I be asked to do during an intersectional IAT?
You will sort words and pictures using your keyboard as quickly as you can. The IAT will measure your reaction time to find out what kinds of associations you make unconsciously. You can push control-Q (command-Q on mac) on your keyboard to skip sections or exit at any time.
Can anyone take the intersectional IAT?
Anyone is welcome to take the intersectional IAT as long as they are 18 years old or older. You are welcome to share the link with anyone for them to take the IDRA-IAT and/or IDGA-IAT.
Please note that one limitation of IATs is they require you to be able to see the screen and push keys on the keyboard so they may not be accessible to people with certain disabilities.
Why is the intersectional IAT website asking me to install something? Is it harmful?
The intersectional IATs, like all IATs, measures your reaction time in milliseconds. To do this, special software is needed and that’s why a plugin called Inquisit is required. The plugin is safe and used by universities around the world. In fact, before creating the public intersectional IATs, Carli Friedman, CQL’s Director of Research, got approval from her research ethics board (institutional review board [IRB]) at University of Illinois at Chicago to do so (Study2025-0208). The IRB’s job is to make sure studies are ethical and protect the rights and welfare of research participants.
How do I uninstall the Inquisit Web plugin?
Instructions about how to uninstall the plugin are located here: https://mili2nd.co/web/uninstall
I’m having trouble getting the intersectional IATs to work, what can I do?
The program the intersectional IATs work off, Inquisit, works a lot better on computers than it does on smart phones or tablets. It’s strongly recommended that you try a computer instead if you had trouble with a smartphone/tablet. Some computers may also have security that does not allow you to install or run the program. For other technical support contact CQL’s Director of Research, Dr. Carli Friedman.
I took the intersectional IAT and was unhappy about my score, what can I do?
It’s important to know that most people have unconscious biases – it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. We all take in ideas from society that inform how we think and the implicit associations we make. One of the first steps to improving our attitudes is learning more about what they are, so congratulations for taking this important step! In fact, there is some research which suggests if we’re less defensive, we’re better able to change our attitudes, so it is important to be open. Next, learning more about ableism and racism, including how they intersect, can help us to better understand our attitudes and work to change them. This page describes more about how implicit attitudes work in detail.
Where can I read more about the IDRA-IAT?
This journal manuscript describes the process of creating and validating the IDRA-IAT. This article summarizes the journal manuscript.
Can I use the IDRA-IAT for my research or education project?
The IDRA-IAT is freely available for research or education projects. Contact Dr. Carli Friedman, CQL’s Director of Research, for materials and more information.
I have more questions about the intersectional IATs, who can answer them?
Contact Dr. Carli Friedman, CQL’s Director of Research, who created the intersectional IATs.
The IDRA-IAT was developed with funding from the WITH Foundation.
Intersecting Disability and Race Implicit Attitudes
This research developed the intersecting disability and race implicit association test (IDRA-IAT), and used it to examine health care professionals’ bias. On this page you can find out more, including how you can take the IDRA-IAT to find out your attitudes.
Project Details
Take An Intersectional Implicit Association Test