A multi-method multi-trait test of the dual-attitude perspective.

What is it about?

We tested the idea that people have two kinds of judgment: one that is deliberate and one that is automatic. While earlier research has offered some support for this idea, not all the necessary tests had been done, leaving some questions unanswered. In our study, we collected data from 24,015 responses and measured judgment in three areas—race, politics, and views about the self. For each area, we used several self-report questions along with seven indirect tests to capture both implicit and explicit judgment using multiple methods to isolate method variance. Our findings showed that a model that distinguishes between deliberate and automatic judgment fits the data better than a model that assumes only one type of judgment.

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Why is it important?

These results support the idea that deliberate and automatic judgment are separate processes, validate the use of indirect tests, and address concerns raised by earlier studies that relied on only one indirect measure to assess automatic judgment.