Prejudice Test | Racism Test
95Another test from the University of Chicago
The University of Chicago Shooter Test will see your likelihood of shooting someone who could be pulling out a cellphone or a gun, depending on what race they are. Another interesting test.
Am I racist? Take an online test
A comment by elleissa left on this Hub mentioned an online test created by a team at Harvard that looks at a person's automatic biases towards some groups over others. Most of us have automatic, knee-jerk reactions towards different characteristics in people. They have tests for race, sexual orientation, gender, religious background, and even one for the 2008 US presidential nominees.
Here is the link: Project Implicit Demonstration Tests
How the test works
It's a little strange. You are presented with words and images and must with a quick response on your keyboard classify them into two categories. You're given a word like "lovely" and must say quickly if that's a "good" word or a "bad" word. They do the same for images of candidates, people of various races, lesbian brides, etc. I believe they look at your response times (?) to determine how easy it is for you to make certain associations in your head. For example, is "gay" and "good" an easy association to make in your head, or a difficult one?
Results slides
Click thumbnail to view full-size
My results, from 3 tests
Let me first state my identity and preferences:
- I am white but truly, honestly feel I am not prejudiced towards whites or blacks
- I am gay and feel I have a slight preference towards gays (I have nothing against straight people, but unless I know them, I don't know if they're bigoted or not)
- I am a Democrat who is supporting Obama but have a soft spot for Hillary Clinton, who I feel has been unfairly demonized by the media and the broader American public. I like Richardson but never considered him "presidential", and I have always found Edwards to be disingenuous.
So, in light of all this, my results are...interesting. According to the tests, apparently...
- I have a strong automatic preference for African-American over European-American
- I have a strong automatic preference for gay over straight
- I have the strongest positive preference for Obama, then Hillary, then Richardson, and most negative for Edwards
The race one for me is bizarre. I don't feel like I have any self-loathing issues and strongly believe (and know) that there is good and bad in any natural-born population (and in equal numbers). That said, more by accident of circumstance than anything else, my two best friends are both African-American and I do live in Oakland. Maybe I really do hate whitey! (obviously kidding)
The gay vs straight one is less surprising. I have absolutely nothing against straight people...that I know aren't bigoted. But there is always that nervous uncertainty when you don't know how a straight person feels about gay people. I have been surprised before. I'm fortunate that homophobia almost never rears its head in my life currently, although it's hard to not take the debate about gay marriage personally.
The one I think that was eerily accurate was the US presidential nominee one, although I wouldn't have been surprised if Hillary had appeared on top, even ahead of Obama. My primary vote has been a neverending toss-up in my head between Obama & Clinton. I had never warmed up to Edwards (but mostly because his voting record is diametrically opposed to his campaign platform!), so I'm not surprised to see him at the bottom.
Other related tests
- ok cupid - The r.a.c.i.s.m. Test
"this is the racism test, it will hopefully show you that you are not racist, but you never know sometimes the truth hurts..." - okcupid - Am I a religious bigot?
"I'll be using advanced logic and knowledge to determine your true nature. This test is for fun only, don't get offended. And if you do get offended -- too bad. :)" - Blogthings - Are You Homophobic?
Do gay people freak you out? Discover your true feelings about homosexuality.
Project Implicit has a number of other tests too. Here are a few others:
- Are you ageist? (Age IAT)
- Are you anti-Arab or anti-Muslim? (Arab/Muslim IAT)
- Are you anti-fat? (Weight IAT)
- Do you have rigid gender roles? (Gender-career IAT)
- Are you prejudiced against the disabled? (Disability IAT)
- Are you anti-Asian? (Asian IAT)
- Do you have negative associations with religions? (Religion IAT)
- Do you prefer lighter or darker skin tones? (Skin Tone IAT)
All interesting stuff!
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Comments
I was unable to load the test also. Interesting hub though.
Yeah, I just tried it and the site seems to be down. Probably temporary.
I hope the site comes back soon.. Your hub made me want to take the test so much!
This is interesting. I don't think I harbor biases. 1) I grew up in an orphanage with every culture there is
2) I'm a Buddhist who respects all life.
It'd be interesting to see what the tests say in your case, Pat.
The site is back up again.
I am not prejudiced in any way but I believe people have a tendency to prefer their own groups, family and friends etc and this radiates outwards. If your family is all white or all black and so are your friends this does not mean in any way that you are prejudiced even if you prefer the comapny of your own color or sex or race, it is just the way things are, Harvard should spend more time curing cancer and disease or trying to find clean fuel alternatives than trying to presuade people that they may have a prejudice, but thats just my thoughts.
What interesting tests. I felt a bit panicked when taking it, afraid I'd do something "wrong"--but, of course, it isn't that kind of test. I am off to do some of the other tests. Thanks for writing about this.
I think these tests are useful because they point out things to ourselves that we didn't know or expect about ourselves. They're not meant to make anyone feel bad, but just to become more aware.
Singpec476: I think (other) Harvard researchers are working on cancer and disease, too. It's not an either/or sort of thing. :)
Thanks for the link Livelonger, i took the race test and apparently i have no preferences of either african or european Americans, both my timings were almost identical acording to the final report......jimmy
Jimmy, my preferences were about the same too. I am quite white, but I am always working for social justice causes...I think my awareness of social issues in my area played a role in how I tested.
Interesting. My results showed a preference for African-American over European-American. Not sure why. Maybe I was unconsciously compensating so that I wouldn't appear to be prejudiced. Also, there was a learning curve in taking the test which meant that the order of the sets may have influenced the results. I was hitting the buttons a lot faster in the second half and toward the end of the exercise.
Very interesting Hub! I am pretty well even on African & European-Americans which is a little odd as I'm from European background...Taking this test reminded me uncomfortably of the 'angst' that went along with all the school tests....yuk
Great hub regards Zsuzsy
I don't believe I have any prejudices, livelonger. But I haven't taken the test yet. Enjoyed the hub, though, and the comments.
There are tests for these things as well.
The hub is interesting. I would have wanted to know against whom I am prejudiced. The truth is my race is subjected constantly to discrimination but my race are great at discriminating other people too -- within and outside the country.
Interestingly, we do not seem to think that we are being discriminatory. Jests against disabled like cross-eyed people for instance are fairly common. Snide remarks against a particular race living here seems acceptable. But Teri Hatcher said something about the medical schools here in Desperate Housewives and the whole country is in uproar. Ironic.
Very interesting...I would like to take this test....
Everyone is prejudice in there own way...discrimination happens every where....doesn't matter what nationality you are.... The way a person remarks or comments towards another person is the form of being either prej. or disc. Just depends on whose seeing it or how we are seeing it....
I don't need know test to tell me this....I just do my best to not be so judgemental...... Njoy ur life...that s why we r livin it.....
Livelonger .... you cool... so's the rest of you ... L8rz
Not really sure a test is needed to tell me what I think! Am I suddenly going to be surprised and find out something new about myself?
There must surely be a link to events - What did this test show about anti-islam feeling prior to 9/11? What about after?
not taken the test yet-only just stumbled across it --but I think that we all start from some prejudice or other--this I think brought about by our surroundings and the climate we were brought up in as well as those passed on things from our parents
but its all right
its how we deal with them as adults is what matters
This is a great article. The tests sound very interesting. I might check them out.
Thanks!
Livelonger,
Thanks for the fun hub. I got part way through the test and the darn thing locked up - twice. But since I did find it so interesting I'll go back later and try it again.
it's easy to hate whitey sometimes, just think of all the opression! they have climed stairs made out of dead men,women, and children to reach the top! Oh, and by "they," i don't mean me cause I'm female AND irish!
racism - the issue is being demonized more than necessary and more so by the white media. why is the term "racism" being villianised? i am not black - nor white, but i too call a white man whitey and a black man blackey! Racism comes into picture when equal opportunities are not provided. poverty and racism are not same...and poverty for the coloured people will never be eliminated because poor people form a different vote bank. Its not just the case in States. its everywhere, world over. minorities are kept just that, as minorities, to be an easily identiifiable vote bank. the only universal discrimination that should be addressed is against women...but men in all their wiliness will never admit that, and women with their soft hearted gullibility always fall prey (britney spears, elliot spitzer, etc etc) - maybe i shd hv made this a hub!
Great hub! I'm off to try the tests myself. I really liked how you shared your own results and offered a comparison with your RL-self; shows there is some validity to the testing.
Well, this kind of tests are available is a surprise for me too and so tried to get it but unable to get some how! I don't know the reason but i can't open it!
I think that this kind of tecnique is used for social studies and at some extent its usefullness ends with limitations! Because of CAREFULL ANSWERING IS POSSIBLE AFTER READING AND THINKING TO SAVE THE SKIN FROM ANY KIND OF LEBELS!
I have taken all tests and am compaitable with all. Best of luck!
Nice HUB. Racism is one of the subjects I HUB about. I'd like to introduce HUBBERS to an educated opposite to racism http://www.LEARNspreadtheword.com Best of Luck. Look forward to seeing more of your HUBS. - Thanks, David
Racism is definitely a subject that needs to be discussed by all,the world would be a much better place without it,but racism has been so intertwined into the fabric of society especially in America, that I don't see it going away any time soon.The more we communicate with each other the more we'll learn that we're all merely different shades of one race, the human race.
I'm not a racist
I have been living in Japan a long time as a foreigner and so feel I am able to relate / empathise with those who feel they have been effected by racism. One interesting observation here in Japan within the "foreign community" is that there is very little of the home grown racism evident. We are all, black, white, yellow, gay, straight, whatever but we are all carrying the same tag "foreigner" and so we just get on with each other and enjoy each others company. I see we judge the single person sitting beside us by what they do to us and nothing else. Kind of weird ? Kind of cool if you ask me.
Your fan.
Monitor.
Interesting hub!
Nice hub...takes some courage to post your results!
I'm not associated with the IAT in any way but have written and taught about it. Here are some comments that, based on previous comments, may not be clear.
1. The test controls for order effects. And you can always take it again if you think the learning curve (which is very real) influenced your results.
2. It's NOT just a matter of in-group preference. It's a matter of being socialized into a racial hierarchy that places Whites at the top. This is evident because racial minority groups generally do not show a pattern of anti-White prejudice. Some are, of course, biased against whites, while others show anti-Black bias or no bias.
I took three tests; the Disability test, the Black/White test, and the Gay/Straight test.
The results from the Disability test didn't shock me at all. It said I had no preference between Abled/Disabled people, which I've always known to be true. My mother is a Papaprofessional (person who works with handicapped students), and I have a cousin who is mentally and physically disabled. Thus, I was brought up believing they are just as equal as me and deserve the same respect as everyone else.
The Black/White test was a bit of an "oops" score. It showed I had a slight preference to white people than to black, but I also had two twitches that might've effected my score. I don't believe I have a preference either way, because that was not the way I was brought up, but if it turns out I do have a preference, I'll have to work on that.
The Gay/Straight test really surprised me by showing a moderate (relatively higher than normal) preference to gays. ... Wait, what? Really? I always thought they were equal, too. That was quite an eye-opener. And I'm not even gay. :D
I might have to take some more tests, because those tests are pretty neat and fun to do. ^_^ I thought it was fun, anyway.
My scores didn't surprise me at all... I took science liberal arts, african or european american, judaism vs other religions, maccain or obama, and straight or gay.
Science Liberal arts: slightly Male Science, femal liberal Arts (not surprising...don't know why but I just think it is true and can't stop thinking that for some reason. there def are exceptions but in general)
Euro-American or African American: slightly Euro American... I wouldn't treat them differently but every race has something in their brains that makes them prefer their own race because used to be to protect from predators
Judaism or other religions: slightly Judaism...no surprises, I am Jewish so I have a bit especially because of all the anti semetic jokes right now (have to admit though, they are pretty funny but I still take a little offense to them)
McCain or Obama: strongly McCain... I hate obama so definitely no surprises and not because obama is black
Gay or Straight: Strongly Straight...I think a lot of this formed because of gay marriage which I think is ridiculous because a marriage is the union of a man and woman not two men or two women
Great hub! Those are interesting tests. It seems that they really hit pretty good with you. I only took one test so far. I took the one regarding your preference between those with disabilites and those without.
I choose this one because I am also the Co-Founder of a non-profit Foundation that works with people that are disabled. I myself have a disablity as well. So you can see my want to take this one first. Well it was off. It said that I prefer those without disabilites. I thought that was funny but then again moing those keys fast caused me to make some mistakes.
I still plan to take some othe tests. I did register for the site.
I took 5 of these tests, and came out neutral in all of them.
In my case, I'm pretty sure that reflects an ability to internalise instructions - if I'm told A and B belong together, and C and D belong together, I just do that.
A really interesting hub, well done! :)
Hi,
I am glad that I found this hub (see my recent Hub "Are All White People Racists?")
According to what I am learning in class, you fit into the White Liberal Syndrome category. You have more awareness of White opression than many who are still in the "conformity" stage but you have not fully developed a White identity because you dislike Whites and are leaning toward favoring minority groups. You could be bordering on "patronizing" (sorry - not my definitions - I am just the messenger).
I think it's odd to take what I write in one hub, and apply what you learned in a class recently to form a diagnosis. I suggest getting a crystal ball.
I do not dislike whites and do not favor minority groups (except my own, gays). I am puzzled about my results of the test. The best theory I can come up with is that the models they used for black people were clearly black, while the white ones had features that could classify them as ethnicities other than white. I most definitely do not have "White Liberal Syndrome", although I know exactly what that is.
This is a great Hub! Just took one of the tests, and it was very interesting.
I have to disagree with the race test. I have plenty of good friends who happen to be African American and it says I strongly prefer white people to dark people. One of my best friends is Black and never at any point have I considered him to be any different than me because of his race. The old people test on the other hand.... Bang on, Old people disgust me
Great article. Thanks for your honesty. It makes others feel like they can be honest while taking the test and convey that into daily living, hopefully making changes.
It would be great to include the links to the different tests available, but I know HubPages doesn't like "more than two links to a site" so that's bogus.
In our day in age, it seems that most of society has become tolerant of eachother especially where race is concerned. Specifically, I have been duped by too many people in certain race groups that my immediate reaction is to guard myself from them until I can get to know them (even a first impression, 10 seconds). I have to admit that appearence is key. If someone looks like they will rob me doesn't mean they will, but I am going to protect myself, in my mind, first. I feel that too many people have become too overly "P.C." and, especially women who try not to stereotype because it makes them feel guilty, will be caught off guard if something terrible happens and they did not trust their gut.
In my personal experience, it is stereotypical of certain races to act a certain way and do certain things because it is culturally standard or acceptable. That's fine, but not when it hurts other people or is stealing. I am not talking about a particular race, I'm talking about every race having certain "acceptable downfalls" within their own communities.
In conclusion =) I jsut wanted to urge people to trust their gut instincts on people without being afraid of the "guilt". We don't need to be outward jerks about it, just keep it in the back of their minds. Don't blindly trust people because you "don't want to be racist or intolerant".
Long winded so thanks =)
I think white racist/supremacist groups need to be taught a lesson about slavery and oppression. The U.S. government need to make arrangements with another country, whatever the cost, for all these groups to be rounded up and packed aboard slave ships in the same deplorable conditions as the Africans that were brought to this country and be made slaves, under the same conditions as Africans. I believe that will end racism!
Great article. This would be a good tool in a classroom to start discussions about inclusion and fairness in opportunities for different cultures. Nice work.
"Hello and thanx for posting this opportunity/test for folks to reply to, although I did not take the test, I was driven to share something with you, if I could!
"First of all I 'm very new to this, so anyone would be willing to help me out and show me the ropes of how to create/develop interesting hub page, I really appreciate it.....
"But I have been through some disgusting errors and experiences in my life, be it ethnically,culturally, physically, financially, and all, and I say yes its ashame, especially in this day and age, how this monsterous thing we call racism/discrimination even still exists,
now there is a man of multiculture in the white house, "quote on quote", and is what it is, and people need to start opening their minds & hearts and except it for what it really is, (black and white) and all others surrounding and in between........
"But as I was saying experiencing all that I have, God gave me a piece that I think the world needs to pay attention to, and except totally!!! A poem created by your's truly.......
God don't discriminate!
Waiting for my government check;
month by month day by day and still what the heck,
I'm in a situation where I consider myself poor;
but I don't deserve to be treated like trash, I can't take no more,
I have spent all my life in poverty pain and tribulations;
if I could I would snap my fingers and change all nations,
but God has a plan and when He sees fit;
there will be an end to tragedy it will all be over with,
so treat one another with love and respect;
the good you do on earth God never forgets,
people look different (shape, size, and color);
but we're all still the same in one way or the other,
and when God blesses He don't discriminate;
so why do you are you that full of hate?
"To see more of my work, please visit poetry.com/ Amazon.com/BarnesandNoble.com/Google.com/ search Tamara Yvonne Jackson.......
Something else I wanted to point out, you know the term hater, I feel like when you bag on someone because of their weight, their attire or just for the simple fact that their attitudes don't suck ("oh he/she thinks their too good) its exactly that, (hatred) which is definately a form of discrimination, discrimination and hatred goes together as the same!
"Good luck to all, and may God bless you all.........
Tammyj1
ps. I have to keep it real, or as they say now 100/ 100%. LoL.......
I thought this was a good test and it showed people true selves, but then I took it. I strongly prefer white people. Really? Cuz as a child of mixed decent living in the south, (My mother was white and my father was Korean.) I dealt with a lot of racist comments, being bisexual didn't help either, lol. I moved out of the country as soon as I could. I try not to be racist, but, the truth of the matter is, I'm not that fond of white people anymore. Or atleast I thought I wasn't... Although, I think my hand eye cordation effected my score a tad.
Interestingly, corporations have either "come so far" or traveled so far away from doing the right thing when it comes to those whom they promote that its scary.
*For instance I work for a corporation that has around 15,000 employees nationwide. It appears after three years of having worked for them that unless you know who's banging whom in Hollywood, you either have to be black, gay or bisexual to be promoted to a somewhat noteworthy level. It's sickening really. I don't naturally hate anyone but half the time rather than taking care of the client I feel like we're filming 'America's next top model.' None of them, not one, is all that good-looking and many are overweight or nerdy and they continue to pick on "good folk" -- people only trying to do their job and mind their own business. Corporate America has become a joke.
I took some tests. I'm from Oakland too. I came out race neutral, with preference for Moslem. I'm not surprised since I was raised Jewish and am a teacher, therefor closely associate with all of my religious minority students.
the test called me racist
I knew that I had a prefrence for thin people over fat people, the test just confirmed it. Funny thing is I consider myself to be fat.
Ralph Deeds says:
2 years ago
For some reason I was unable to open the link to the prejudice test.