Method for measuring strength of associations

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10217526-B2
Application number	US-45549306-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 19, 2006
Priority date	Jun 17, 2005
Publication date	Feb 26, 2019
Grant date	Feb 26, 2019

Abstract

An improved method of measuring a subject's strength of associations involving each of a first pair of first and second categories with each of a second pair of third and fourth categories includes having the subject respond to a first set of trials in a first manner when there is presented an exemplar of either the first category or the third category and in a second manner when there is presented an exemplar of either the second category or the fourth category and presenting the subject with a first series of exemplars in the first set of trials, the first series including exemplars in all four categories. The method further includes having the subject respond to a second set of trials in one of the two manners when there is presented the exemplar of either the second category or the third category and in the other of the two manners when there is presented the exemplar of either the first category or the fourth category and presenting the subject with a second series of exemplars in the second set of trials, the second series including exemplars in all four categories. Latency is measured in each trial from time of exemplar presentation to the subject to a response by the subject to produce latency measurements. A measure is calculated of the subject's strength of associations involving each of the first and second categories with each of the third and fourth categories from the latency measurements.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of measuring a subject's strength of associations involving each of a first pair of first and second categories with each of a second pair of third and fourth categories, without any use of single-task practice trials, the method comprising:
in a first set of trials, causing presentation, via a display device coupled to a computer accessible to a subject, of a first series of exemplars, the first series of exemplars including exemplars from all four categories;
storing performance by the subject of a series of tasks in the first set of trials, wherein the tasks in the first set of trials are to respond in a first manner when there is presented an exemplar of either the first category or the third category and in a second manner when there is presented an exemplar in any other category, and wherein the task as to the second manner of response has no explicit reference to the second or fourth category;
in a second set of trials, causing presentation, via the display device, of a second series of exemplars in the second set of trials, the second series of exemplars including exemplars from all four categories;
storing performance by the subject of a series of tasks in the second set of trials, wherein the tasks in the second set of trials are to respond in a first manner when there is presented an exemplar of either the second category or the third category and in a second manner when there is presented an exemplar in any other category, and wherein the task as to the second manner of response has no explicit reference to the first or fourth category;
measuring, in a first computer process, for each response in each trial, a time elapsed between exemplar presentation to the subject and response of the subject via the computer to the presented exemplar, to produce a latency measurement therefor; and
in a second computer process, calculating a measure of the subject's strength of associations involving each of the first and second categories with each of the third and fourth categories from the latency measurements,
so that performance data from the subject is obtained without any use of single-task practice trials.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the trials of each set alternate between presenting the subject with an arbitrary exemplar in one of the first pair of categories with an arbitrary exemplar in one of the second pair of categories.

3. A method according to claim 1 , wherein calculating a measure includes calculating a difference between a mean latency for the first set of trials and a mean latency for the second set of trials and dividing the difference by a standard deviation of the latency measurements for the first and the second set of trials.

4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the subject is presented with fewer than 100 trials.

5. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the subject is presented with fewer than 50 trials.

6. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the first pair of categories includes an attribute and an opposing attribute.

7. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the first pair of categories includes a pleasant valence category and an opposed unpleasant valence category, and the method measures the subject's strength of associations involving attitude.

8. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the first pair of categories includes human group categories and the second pair of categories includes trait categories, and the method measures the subject's strength of associations involving stereotypes.

9. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the first pair of categories includes a self-referring category and an other-referring category, and the method measures the subject's strength of associations involving identity.

10. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
repeating the first set of trials with a third series of exemplars; and
repeating the second set of trials with a fourth series of exemplars.

11. A method according to claim 10 , wherein the subject is not required to respond to any trials other than those trials recited.

12. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the subject is not required to respond to any trials other than those trials recited.

13. A method according to claim 1 , wherein measuring latency in each trial includes measuring from the time of exemplar presentation to the subject to a correct response by the subject.

Assignees

• Greenwald Anthony G
• Sriram N
• Univ Washington

Inventors

• Greenwald Anthony G
• Sriram N

Classifications

• G09B7/00

  Electrically-operated teaching apparatus or devices working with questions and answers (mechanically operated G09B3/00; computing arrangements G06F) · CPC title

• G16H10/20 Primary

  for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires · CPC title

• A61B5/167

  Personality evaluation · CPC title