Using the implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP) to assess implicit gender bias and self-esteem in typically-developing children and children with ADHD and with dyslexia.

• DOI: 10.1037/h0100577
• Publication Date: 2014-12-21T20:35:41Z
• Authors: Geraldine Scanlon; Ciara McEnteggart; Yvonne Barnes-Holmes; Dermot Barnes-Holmes
• Keywords: 5. Gender equality; 05 social sciences; 150; 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences; 10. No inequality; Education

The current research comprised two studies that explored the utility of the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (irap) as a measure of children’s implicit attitudes to the self. Study 1 (n = 20) involved a sample of children with adhd and typically-developing children, all aged between 8 and 11 years. Across irap trials, each child’s own name (e.g., mary) was juxtaposed with a common name of the opposite gender (e.g., peter), and presented in conjunction with three positive or three negative words and the two relational terms similar and opposite. The results indicated that both groups of children showed an implicit pro-self bias in trial-types denoted as Self-Positive and Self-Negative. While the typically-developing children were neither positive nor negative towards the other gender, the children with adhd showed a pro-other bias in the Other-Negative trial-type. Study 2 (n = 20) involved typically-developing children and children with dyslexia, all aged between 9 and 14 years. Again, both groups showed a pro-self bias in the Self-Positive and Self-Negative trial-types, and both were neither positive nor negative in the Other-Positive trial-type. However, the typically-developing children were anti-others in the Other-Negative trial-type, while the children with dyslexia were pro-others. The study highlights the benefits of using both explicit and implicit measures, especially the irap, when assessing the implicit cognitions of children.