Test-Retest Reliability and Criterion-Related Validity of the Implicit Association Test for Measuring Shyness

This study investigated the test-retest reliability and the criterion-related validity of the Implicit Association Test (IAT [1]) that was developed for measuring shyness among Japanese people. The IAT has been used to measure implicit stereotypes, as well as self-concepts, such as implicit shyness and implicit self-esteem. We administered the shyness IAT and the self-esteem IAT to participants (N = 59) on two occasions over a one-week interval (Time 1 and Time 2) and examined the test-retest reliability by correlating shyness IATs between the two time points. We also assessed the criterion-related validity by calculating the correlation between implicit shyness and implicit self-esteem. The results indicated a sufficient positive correlation coefficient between the scores of implicit shyness over the one-week interval (r = .67, p < .01). Moreover, a strong negative correlation coefficient was indicated between implicit shyness and implicit self-esteem (r = −.72, p < .01). These results confirmed the testretest reliability and the criterion-related validity of the Japanese version of the shyness IAT, which is indicative of the validity of the test for assessing implicit shyness. key words: implicit shyness, implicit association test, reliability, validity