Increasing the Flexibility of Implicit Personality Assessment: An Examination of a Universal Assessment Procedure of the Self

The current studies systematically examined a new version of the Questionnaire-Based Implicit Association Test (qIAT), which minimizes the differences between direct and indirect modes of assessment. Studies 1a (N = 276) and 1 b (N = 238) tested a method that enables an indirect assessment of questionnaires that include only non-reversed items. Studies 2a (N = 255) and 2 b (N = 284) tested a task that substitutes the problematic construct-related category labels with generic, universal categories. These studies, which focused on extraversion, supported the feasibility, reliability and validity of this procedure. Studies 3a-3c (N = 159, 154 and 151, respectively) supported the internal consistency, test-retest reliability and convergent validity of these methods, assessing three well-researched, semantically complex personality scales: Aggressive Humor Style, Need for Closure and Anxiety Sensitivity. Studies 4a (N = 195) and 4 b (N = 283) supported the implicitness of the qIAT, as most respondents were not aware of this task’s purpose. In Study 4c (N = 598), participants who reported using antidepressants had lower self-esteem qIAT scores compared to a control group, thus supporting the criterion validity of this task. Taken together, findings suggest that the new qIAT substantially increases the scope of indirect personality assessment.