Implicit bias, executive control and information processing speed

This study examined the relationships between processing speed and Implicit Association Test (IAT) performance using a race and a socially neutral IAT, in 51 European American adults ranging in age from 19 to 55. Simple reaction time was not correlated with IAT performance. However, faster higher-level processing speed on a 3-back task was correlated with lower transformed scores and shorter latencies on multiple implicit association race and neutral measures. Higher-level processing may account for approximately 70% of this relationship with general processing speed accounting for the remainder. The relationship between higher-level processing and implicit bias may be mediated by shared executive processes. However, patterns of neurobehavioral engagement and activation may also reflect a systemic response to diverse stimuli, suggesting that in individuals with lower implicit bias, executive processes are moreefficient resulting in faster higher-level processing and in appearing or being less biased.