Function over Form

Research surrounding the construct of “implicit attitudes” and the various methodologies for measuring that construct is currently founded on the social cognitive paradigm. However, no robust and agreed upon theoretical framework has emerged from this paradigm, despite the widespread adoption of implicit testing methodologies and their associated theoretical assumptions. The current chapter outlines a functional approach to implicit testing, describing research stemming from Relational Frame Theory that was developed in parallel with the emergence of the IAT, and arguing for the benefits of connecting these two strands of research to improve the understanding of attitude behaviors and create better understood implicit testing methodologies. The chapter concludes with descriptions of two examples of such methodologies: the IRAP and the FAST.

Hidden Curriculum Determinants in (Pre)School Institutions

The hidden curriculum is described in terms of values, attitudes, norms, rules, and rituals that are taught in school, but its main characteristic is its unplanned and officially unorganized form. It appears in every day kindergarten and school routine where children and pupils learn it as the official curriculum. From the psychological aspect, it comes close to implicit learning. In this chapter, the authors argue that the influence of the hidden curriculum and the implicit learning deserve far more attention and scientific research because of their significant contribution to the learning outcomes and for their constant presence in the education process: in a learning organization that means all the time and for all the participants.

How Social Factors Influence Implicit Knowledge Construction on the Internet

The influence of Internet on knowledge acquisition increases as it became the primary source of reference, especially for young generations. Therefore, it is important to understand how social factors and Internet influences not only explicit but also implicit knowledge construction. Several theories explain the impact of the social groups on the knowledge formation as Social Cognitive Theory of Bandura and Lay Epistemic Theory of Kruglanski. Thus, the authors propose an analysis of the implicit knowledge construction processes through the theoretical overview of Internet communication. More specifically, they discuss how the mechanisms of Internet increase the social and group impact on the implicit knowledge processes.

Rethinking Bloom's Taxonomy

Implicit cognition is an intriguing area of focus when one considers the impact of implicit memory theories upon each learner's cognitive vulnerability when framed through Bloom's Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain. Specifically, consider the learner's cognitive understanding and movement from the lower order thinking skills, say from the Knowledge realm and Comprehension realm, towards the higher order thinking skills, Synthesis realm and Evaluation realm, or one of the revised domains to reflect Digital Age expectations. Although much is available on the different levels of cognitive achievement, the “in between” leaps in a learner's ability to work with the information in new and different manners may suggest that the cognitive vulnerability may impact the learner's implicit memory and the learner's movement between different taxonomic levels of informational understanding.

Unraveling a Progressive Inquiry Script in Persistent Virtual Worlds

The radical utilization of collaborative learning processes in Three-Dimensional (3D) multi-user virtual worlds has been widely investigated. However, a study to delineate a comprehensive pedagogical model aimed at facilitating the same productive-argumentative knowledge practices is still lacking. This chapter presents the most reliable principles of contemporary socio-cognitive learning theories and teaching models. These socio-cognitive constructs can reinforce the majority of collaborative social-cultural students' pursuits and capabilities in the learning process in order to better handle their cohesion or coordination with other peers in 3D multi-user virtual worlds. Consequently, with the adaptation of the Progressive Inquiry (PI) teaching model, this chapter proposes a novel framework for the implementation of this model in online collaborative processes that can be held in 3D multi-user virtual worlds. Educational implications for a reputable instructional format with the conjunction of the PI model and further suggestions are also discussed.

Smoking, Implicit Attitudes, and Context-Sensitivity

This chapter focuses on implicit attitudes toward smoking and provides the first systematic review of research in this domain. Implicit attitudes are suggested to guide automatic behavior, thereby playing a pivotal role for automatic processes inherent in addictive behaviors. This chapter further explores the extent to which implicit attitudes are context-sensitive. More specifically, it reviews studies that have focused on the differential effects of external cues such as warning labels and internal cues (e.g., deprivation). Results of 32 studies show that although smokers generally have more positive implicit attitudes than non-smokers, the valence of implicit attitudes varies as a result of the applied method or stimuli. Studies reveal that implicit attitudes toward smoking partly depend on external cues, especially outcome expectancies. Similarly, internal cues affect implicit attitudes whereby the level of nicotine deprivation seems vital. Implications for intervention and future research are indicated in the discussion.

Individual Differences in Implicit Learning

This chapter reviews research on whether individual differences in psychometric intelligence, working memory, and other less investigated variables, such as emotion and personality, affect implicit learning, with particular focus on Reber's evolutionary theory and Kaufman's dual-process theory for implicit learning. The review shows that while the null effects of psychometric intelligence on implicit learning seems robust as both theories claim, those of working memory were unclear due to methodological insufficiency. For the effects of emotion and personality, further investigation is needed as studies in this direction have just begun to proliferate. The chapter concludes that the research findings on the effects of these individual difference variables on implicit learning are still inconclusive, except for psychometric intelligence, and provides suggestions for future research.

The Role of Implicit Mechanisms in Buffering Self-Esteem from Social Threats

Previous research has demonstrated that people have the goal of self-enhancing, or viewing themselves in an overly positive light. However, only recent research has examined the degree to which the relationship between self-enhancement goals and outcomes are a result of explicit deliberative mechanisms or implicit automatic mechanisms. The current chapter reviews evidence on unconscious goal pursuit, autobiographical memory, social neuroscience, and implicit self-esteem that suggests that implicit mechanisms play a powerful role in producing self-enhancement outcomes. Furthermore, this chapter reviews evidence that these implicit mechanisms are activated by social threats and thus contribute to successful coping. Finally, the authors discuss the implications of implicit self-enhancement mechanisms for targets of stigma, individuals who frequently encounter threats to well-being.

Implicit Social Cognition and Language Attitudes Research

This chapter argues for incorporation of concepts and methods from the domain of Implicit Social Cognition (ISC) into the field of language attitudes research. As support, this chapter reports on a quantitative study that employed both an audio Implicit Association Test and traditional self-report questionnaires to measure participants' implicit and explicit attitudes toward foreign and U.S. accented speech stimuli. The IAT revealed a pro-U.S. accent bias, while the explicit measure found a pro-foreign accent bias. These results support the argument that the distinction between implicit and explicit attitudes as separable attitude constructs resulting from distinct mental processes is an important one for language attitudes research and that both attitude constructs should be evaluated when studying language attitudes.

Applying the IAT to Assess Big Five Personality Traits

This chapter reviews the studies that applied the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to assess the Big Five personality traits, focusing on issues related to measurement and validity. After a brief introduction on the implicit self-concept of personality, the following five issues are critically reviewed: (1) the experimental procedure of both classical and questionnaire-based Big Five IATs, (2) the factorial structure and reliability of the implicit traits and the degree of dissociation between implicit and explicit measures, (3) the state and trait components of implicit scores, (4) the predictive validity of the Big-Five IATs with respect to relevant behavioural criteria, and (5) the robustness to faking of the Big Five IATs. Future research directions for the implicit measures of the Big Five were discussed.