Thanks for your reply and the link. I read the article you linked to. Interesting. I can understand why there is controversy. (I see the article was published in 2008. I wonder what, if anything, has changed since then?)
My own sense is that whatever the flaws of the test, it is undeniable that the US has big big issues around race that need to be addressed yesterday, and I think the test at the very least serves to get people thinking and talking about the issues in relation to their own attitudes, so to my mind that in itself is a good thing. (So I guess I’m with the researchers quoted who see its value as an educational device more than as a diagnostic device.)
I don’t know. I would guess there wouldn’t be a statistically significant difference, because as I understand it the test measures (or attempts to measure) ingrained, longstanding, unconscious attitudes, which probably aren’t going to change overnight (or in a month) from a one-afternoon training session.
Of course we don’t know what Starbucks’ training will be exactly, but I hope it will both help employees begin to see and understand their own assumptions/biases, and give them training in how to treat others well even though they themselves may harbor biases. In other words, give people the tools they need to change their behavior now, and let them know what’s expected of them as employees right now; ingrained beliefs/attitudes will take longer to change, maybe generations. And of course Starbucks will need to follow this up with ongoing training. This is just a start in the right direction.
I think a better measure of the training (rather than have employees take an implicit association test before and after) (and I’m making some assumptions about what the training may be) might be to survey customers of various races now, and then again a month after the training, as to how they felt treated when they visited a Starbucks—Did they feel welcome? Did they feel they were treated differently from the way that people of other races were being treated? Did they feel that they would be safe from harm or threat? Is anything worse now than it was before the training? etc. (I’m sure I’m missing some important things, but you get the idea.) And survey customers again after more training…
