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In two experiments, the use of a self-other Implicit Association Test (IAT) as a measure of implicit self-esteem was examined. In Study 1, participants completed two self-other IATs: one in which the other was unspecified and one in which the other was specified to be a close friend. Esteem-IAT scores were significantly higher for the unspecified other-IAT (d = .82), indicating that the content of the other has a considerable influence on the over-all esteem-IAT scores. Study 2 provided a conceptual replication of these results and provided some initial evidence that the valence of an unspecified other is negative. Across both studies, the nature of the mental representation of the self, as measured by an esteem-IAT, changed as a function of the mental representation of the other. The crucial role of the other-associations in the esteem-IAT calls into question its use and interpretation as a measure of self-esteem.
Andrew Karpinski (Thu,) studied this question.