Issues in Diversity - Assignment Task 1

Details: 

PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY 

Conscious and unconscious factors impact how we behave; therefore, the Implicit Association Test (IAT) provides an avenue for assessing one’s biases.

In this test, you will complete a categorisation task, and short survey about your attitudes. Each time you begin a session you will be randomly assigned to a topic and should take between 10 – 15 minutes. At the end, you will receive feedback about your performance. Complete at least two (2) tests (see below for details of the relevant tests to choose). Please note only you and the IAT researchers have access to the results of participation.

There are three purposes of this assessment. First, this assessment may raise your awareness of your own conscious and subconscious perceptions or biases, helping to identify whether they are congruent with one another. Second, it provides an opportunity to reflect on how your past and current experience may contribute to your conscious and subconscious perceptions and biases. Third, it assists in learning how your perceptions or biases may influence how you interact with diverse others in your personal and professional settings. 

Instructions:

1. Go to the website: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/(Links to an external site.)  
2. Go to “Take a Test” (located on the bottom of the page - you don't need to sign in / sign up)
3. Click on “I wish to proceed”
4. Agree to continue and pick two tests. You can choose two from the following: Gender-Career, Gender-Science, Race, Arab-Muslim, Religion, Asian-American, Age, Sexuality and/or Disability.
5. When you finish you will be given “results”. Copy (cut and paste, or screen shot) and keep a record of the test results provided by the program and keep these for the purpose of writing this reflective piece (you may be asked to produce evidence of participating in this test)  
6. You are then required to write a reflective piece by discussing how your results reflect unconscious cultural and social conditioning. Specifically, discuss what personal, social, generational, cultural, workplace and/or educational experiences might have influenced the results (or unconscious bias, if any)?   

Structure

There is some flexibility around structure. But you can use the following as a guide, if you are unsure: begin with an introduction / overview paragraph. The essay should then move on to providing an explanation of: 1) the concept of unconscious bias, 2) the IAT and why it can be useful, as well as 3) critiques or limitations of the IAT. It should then include your own reflections on taking the IAT, and what you have learned from the process. 

Important Note: You are not required to share thoughts and experiences that are very personal to you. It is entirely up to you to share thoughts and experiences that you feel comfortable with. The key is to demonstrate insightful thinking and application of theories, frameworks and practices addressed in this course.

The following from RMIT Learning Lab offers excellent recommendations on reflective writing