My Prejudice is Old People – What’s Yours?

“Oh no,” I said, discovering my inner old-people hater.

Since 1998, when the Project Implicit Web site was launched, more than 4.5 million tests have been conducted. Results show that people are often unaware of their implicit biases, but that these biases are pervasive and predict behavior. According to the Web site, more than 80 percent of Web respondents “show implicit negativity toward the elderly compared to the young; 75 to 80 percent of self-identified whites and Asians show an implicit preference for white relative to black.”

There are lots of interesting tests to take. As a cultural (but not religious) Christian, I wanted to take a test to find out whether I have a preference for “other religions” (including Christianity) over Judaism. After stumbling over how to categorize some of the images (I really need to take a Religion 101 course) I found out I have a slight implicit bias in favor of Judaism.

Then I moved onto some fun political tests. I took one that flashed the faces of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain. I voted for Obama in the Georgia primary, though I am rather conflicted between the two Democratic candidates and definitely love the idea of a female President. The results were surprising—I have a strong implicit bias in favor of Hillary Clinton. My Obama feelings were middling, and John McCain was so low he might as well have been holding a pitchfork and surrounded by fire.

I took a test that showed I had a moderate implicit bias in favor of Thomas Jefferson over George W. Bush—not a shocker, but I must admit that strange hostile feelings came over me when I saw the pictures of Jefferson pop up on my computer screen. All I could think about was the offspring he’d sired and not claimed.

Enough about me, I want to hear about you! Take the tests and let us know your poison.