Abstract: Implicit Association Test, developed by A.G. Greenwald in 1998, is a new method to measure implicit attitude. It is based on a kind of computerized discriminating and classifying task. The indicator of IAT is the difference of reaction time between incompatible discrimination and compatible discrimination. IAT measures implicit attitude indirectly by measuring the automatic association between concept words and attributive words. In the paper, the principle of IAT is introduced firstly, then the relative research results of both IAT’s psychometric nature and its application are summarized. At the end of the paper, a review is proposed in the perspective of modern psychological measurement. It is suggested that IAT reflects the latest trend of modern psychological measurement: the combination of experimental method and psychometric method, the combination between trait measurement and process measurement.

Key words: Implicit Association Test(IAT), implicit attitude, concept words, attributive words