Note: This question type is available only to users with Expert license
What is the Implicit Association Test (IAT)?
The Implicit Association Test measures the strength of implicit associations between concepts in our memory. Unlike explicit questions, where respondents consciously evaluate and rate a brand or idea, IAT digs deeper—by measuring how quickly respondents can associate certain attributes (e.g., “Premium”, “Beautiful”, “Easy to Use”) with a given object (e.g., a brand).
Solution templates
Survey templates that include example respondent instructions, practice round and Implicit Association Test question.
Single Object IAT (e.g. testing associations with one brand)
An expert licence is required to use this template. Please contact your account manager (info@survalyzer.com) or create a support ticket if you would like to use this template.
Multiple Objects IAT (e.g. testing associations with multiple brands)
An expert licence is required to use this template. Please contact your account manager (info@survalyzer.com) or create a support ticket if you would like to use this template.
Implicit Association Test in a nutshell:
- Respondents are shown an object (e.g. brand) and a series of items (e.g. attributes like “innovative” or “premium”)
- For each item, respondents answer “Yes” or “No” in response to whether they associate it with the object or not.
- They are instructed to respond as fast as possible, without overthinking.
- The system captures both the answer and the reaction time.
- Association Score is then calculated per each stimuli, using both answer and reaction time values.
- The higher the score, the stronger positive association of the item with the object.
- IAT can be conducted as a single object assessment, or it can allow to assess and compare results between multiple objects (e.g. compare association strength between different attributes of different brands).
IAT Research Guidelines & Instructions
When designing an IAT survey, structure and consistency are essential to avoid bias or misleading insights. Here’s what to keep in mind:
1. Provide clear instructions to respondents
Clarity in instructions leads to reliable data. When using IAT in your survey, guide respondents with the following key points before they start answering:
- “You will be shown words describing traits or qualities.”
- “For each one, indicate whether it applies to the brand you see by selecting Yes or No.”
- “Please answer as quickly as possible. Your reaction time is important for the test.”
- “There are no right or wrong answers. Just go with your immediate impression.”
Depending on respondents’ target device, you can advice them to either swipe (on mobile devices), or use keyboard keys to answer the question. You can use different text blocks with filtered by device to differentiate instructions dynamically (see examples in our solution templates above).
2. Include practice round before actual test
Implicit Association Test question can feel quite different from “usual” survey questions. Respondents may need some time to get familiar with its mechanics before they can focus on actual answers.
In order to ensure quality results, we strongly advice to include a “practice” round in your survey, before showing an actual test. Otherwise, answers and reaction times might be of poor quality only because your respondents didn’t know how to technically answer your question.
As an example: As a practice round, you can ask “What words do you associate with a dog?” See example below, also included in our solution template.
3. Create a single or multiple objects Implicit Association Test
Implicit Association Test can be run in Survalyzer in one of two main ways:
Single object assessment
Example: Testing multiple attributes against one brand. This approach is useful when your research design and target sample requires short survey or testing only one specific goal.
How to add Single Object IAT in Survalyzer
Note: This question type is available only to users with Expert license
To add Implicit Association Test question to your survey, you simply need to find it in “Add content” survey builder menu:
Then the only thing to do is to fill your question text and add items:
Multiple objects assessment
Example: Testing same list of attributes against multiple brands. This approach is useful when you want to compare IAT results between different objects and your research design allows for longer survey in a more controlled environment (e.g. paid panel)
In Survalyzer, multiple objects Implicit Association Test is conducted by running the same test multiple times, each time on a different object.
How to add Multiple Object IAT in Survalyzer
In this scenario, you will be running the same IAT test multiple times, each time for different object (e.g. Brand).
You can achieve it easily in Survalyzer with Looped Section by following these steps:
- First follow the steps from the “Single-Object” scenario above.
- Create a List with objects that you want to test (e.g. brands)
- Create a Looped Section based on that list.
- Use a loop-related text placeholder in IAT question text, so that in each loop iteration another name from the list is shown. (read more about loops here). You can find this text placeholder by entering Rich Text Editor mode of question text field and clicking “placeholders” icon.
And that’s it! You can reference this set-up on the screenshot below or in our solution template above.
Be cautious with objects or items filtering
To eliminate differences in base reaction time across individuals, each respondent should assess the same full set of objects and stimuli. This is to avoid situation, where your “Brand 1” respondents might answer inherently faster than “Brand 2” respondents. For example, if you’re comparing three brands, every respondent should evaluate all three, unless you have a big enough sample and control for equal distribution among key characteristics.
4. Analyzing and interpreting IAT results
Each item assessed receives an Association Score between -100 and 100, calculated using both yes/no answer and speed of response. Here’s how to interpret it:
- Positive scores indicate a moderate to strong positive association with the object. The higher the score, the stronger the automatic connection.
- Negative scores indicate weak or no positive association. A very low score (e.g., -75) suggests the item is not linked to the object in the minds of your respondents.
How to create Single Object IAT Report in Survalyzer
To quickly analyze your IAT results, you just need to select IAT question in one of your report wizards (e.g. in Basic Report Wizard). Association Score analysis will be automatically provided by default.
Multiple objects IAT analysis
As we discussed above, IAT can be also conducted against multiple objects (e.g. Brands). This provide an opportunity to compare Association Score results per each item per each object, as presented on the chart above.
Example insights that can be drawn from such analysis:
- Brand 2 has high Customization (+66) and a strong Powerful image, but scores negatively on Beautiful (-69) and Ease of Use (-13).
These insights can help brand managers refine messaging, positioning, and even product experience based on implicit customer perceptions – insights that could be more difficult to uncover with direct questioning
How to create Multiple Objects IAT Report in Survalyzer
In order to compare IAT results between different objects, there is one more additional step needed when compared to single object scenario.
On Segmentation step of the Report Wizard (or Table Wizard), select variable-based segmentation > loop variable:
Everything else is automated and you will be presented with the IAT results per assessed objects. See example Excel Report below:
Analysis warning: be cautious with segmentation
IAT results should be analyzed across the entire dataset, not segmented into subgroups. Association Scores are influenced by individual cognitive response speeds, therefore breaking the data down into smaller groups can distort insights. Example: when segmenting respondents into Age sub-groups, you may find that older respondents have absolute association score closer to zero only because their answers could be relatively slower to younger respondent group.
Q&A
How does raw data look like for IAT question type?
In your raw data export, you will see 3 variables per each item:
- q1_1: storing yes or no answer per item
- q1_1_time: storing response time per item
- q1_1_score: storing calculated association score per item
How is Association Score calculated?
Main assumptions in our Association Score calculation:
- If the answer is “No”, then Association Score is negative, if the answer is “Yes”, the the score is positive.
- The faster the answer, the bigger the absolute value of the score. The slower the answer, the absolute value is closer to 0.
- The score can fall between -100 and 100.
- The higher the score, the stronger positive association with the target.
- If respondent is not excluded, but there are few “outlier” reaction times in his/her response data, then those values are recoded to boundary values to avoid affecting the mean.
- Aggregated result is a mean value out of all respondents score per each item.
Detailed calculation can be shared upon request.
How is Implicit Association Test question type different from Swipe Cards question type?
Both of those question types use a similar visual appearance and set of settings, however there are 2 key differences:
- Association Score automatic calculation. In IAT there is one additional survey variable storing automatically calculated Association Score per each item.
- Reports with Association Score results. In IAT you receive automatic reports with Association Score calculation.
Conclusion
The Implicit Association Test is an effective tool for understanding subconscious attitudes. When used thoughtfully in survey research, IAT reveals brand perceptions that lie beneath the surface – unlocking actionable insights that can shape strategy, product development, and marketing. Using our survey software, you can easily design, distribute, and analyze IAT-based surveys across any number of brands or attributes. Just remember to follow best practices in design and interpretation to ensure valid, meaningful results.