TY - JOUR
T1 - Use of the implicit association test for the measurement of tinnitus-related distress
AU - Moring, John
AU - Bowen, Anne
AU - Thomas, Jenifer
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Purpose: A priming stimulus activates and increases an association with the target stimulus. The goal of this research was to investigate whether current tinnitus measures are susceptible to increased error due to priming and, if so, to examine the feasibility of using the Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) for an alternative measurement of tinnitus-related distress. Method: Participants completed 2 tinnitus-related questionnaires and the IAT online. Results: Although participants with tinnitus did not view sound-related words as significantly more negative and IAT scores did not predict scores on the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (Newman, Jacobson, & Spitzer, 1996), priming did affect negative implicit attitudes toward sound-related words. Conclusions: On the basis of these results, it is suggested that current tinnitus measures may be susceptible to priming error and that future studies should continue to pursue how the IAT can be utilized in the measure of tinnitus-related distress. Moreover, researchers should develop overt-behavioral measurements that can assess the validity of a tinnitus IAT.
AB - Purpose: A priming stimulus activates and increases an association with the target stimulus. The goal of this research was to investigate whether current tinnitus measures are susceptible to increased error due to priming and, if so, to examine the feasibility of using the Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) for an alternative measurement of tinnitus-related distress. Method: Participants completed 2 tinnitus-related questionnaires and the IAT online. Results: Although participants with tinnitus did not view sound-related words as significantly more negative and IAT scores did not predict scores on the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (Newman, Jacobson, & Spitzer, 1996), priming did affect negative implicit attitudes toward sound-related words. Conclusions: On the basis of these results, it is suggested that current tinnitus measures may be susceptible to priming error and that future studies should continue to pursue how the IAT can be utilized in the measure of tinnitus-related distress. Moreover, researchers should develop overt-behavioral measurements that can assess the validity of a tinnitus IAT.
KW - Assessment
KW - Audiology
KW - Tinnitus
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U2 - 10.1044/2014_AJA-14-0013
DO - 10.1044/2014_AJA-14-0013
M3 - Article
C2 - 24810866
AN - SCOPUS:84932125130
SN - 1059-0889
VL - 23
SP - 293
EP - 302
JO - American Journal of Audiology
JF - American Journal of Audiology
IS - 3
ER -