Using implicit measures to explore children’s intergroup attitudes: methodological and practical considerations for researchers

In recent years, implicit measures of attitude have emerged as increasingly important methods in research with adults; however, they have been used less often in research with children or adolescents. The present article seeks to initiate wider discussion on the potential for using implicit measures with young people by providing readers with an introduction to their use in child and adolescent research on intergroup attitudes and offering some guidance to researchers who are considering their use. The article initially explains the nature of implicit measures and then discusses in greater depth three measures that have been used with children. Psychometric and ethical issues (e.g. reliability, validity and use of deception) relevant to utilising implicit measures are then discussed and this is followed by a section detailing some practical considerations when using implicit measures. The final section of the article considers the current standing of implicit measures in work with children and makes suggestions for future research directions.