ORCID
- Gray Atherton: 0000-0002-3954-9127
- Liam Cross: 0000-0002-5122-1650
Abstract
The implicit association test (IAT) provides a sensitive measure of attitudes to social dimensions such as race, gender or disability using a response speed procedure. The automatisation deficit account of dyslexia attributes the reading (and broader) difficulties of dyslexic people to reduced speed and strength of stimulus–response habit formation and, therefore, predicts reduced implicit bias for individuals with dyslexia. This novel prediction was tested using the ‘Project Implicit’ IAT database on attitudes to disability. Data from over 460,000 respondents was analysed, including 22,747 with physical disability (PD), 14,700 with dyslexia, and 1721 with dyscalculia. The dyslexia group did indeed show significantly less ‘Disability Bias’ than both the PD and no disability groups. Intriguingly, the dyscalculia group showed significantly less disability bias even than the dyslexia group. The results are interpreted within the learning framework of broader automatisation deficit and have ramifications for understanding both conditions and the processes of development of implicit bias in neurodiverse and neurotypical populations.
DOI
10.1177/27546330241288164
Publication Date
2024-10-08
Publication Title
Neurodiversity
Recommended Citation
Cross, L., Atherton, G., & Nicolson, R. (2024) 'People with Dyslexia or Dyscalculia are less biased: Results of a preregistered study from over 450,000 people on the Implicit Association Test', Neurodiversity, . Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330241288164
