The VR IAT is a Virtual Reality adaptation of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) , a well known assessment in the field of social psychology intended to detect the strength of a person's subconscious associations, commonly used to measure implicit racial bias. In the test participants are asked to quickly pair dark faces with negative words + light faces with positive words and dark faces with positive words + light faces with negative words. If the first group is completed faster than the second, that indicates an implicit bias. Implicit bias does not mean that the person is prejudiced but reflects implicit bias (which likely to be socially determined).
The VR IAT makes use of hand tracking on the Oculus Quest to test whether having a different skin color in VR has an effect on the results of the original Race IAT test. To see if this has an effect on you, you should take the test at least twice, once with light skin color hands and once with dark skin color hands. The test looks at the speed and accuracy of your answers, therefore it is important to focus and complete the test as quickly as possible while also being accurate.
VR Developer, Consultant & Researcher
”When we think of something as implicit racial bias you think that it's already ingrained and there's nothing you can do, but in reality studies show that by simply having people relate to someone with a different ethnicity - you can already change that. New associations will be built. It's a stepping stone, for sure.”
Ziada Ayorech, Kings College London
