TY - JOUR
T1 - Attitudes toward overweight individuals among fitness center employees: An examination of contextual effects
AU - Dimmock, James
AU - Hallett, B.E.
AU - Grove, Bob
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Our study assessed implicit and explicit evaluations of overweight individuals among a sample of fitness center employees (N = 70). Participants completed a general demographics questionnaire and an explicit, self-report Antifat Attitudes Test (AFAT). Participants also completed two Implicit Association Tests (IATs) to measure implicit attitudes toward overweight individuals. In one IAT, participants responded to pictures of overweight and thin individuals in a neutral context. A second IAT required participants to respond to pictures of the same individuals exercising on a treadmill. Consistent with hypotheses, average scores fell below the midpoint on the AFAT subscales, suggesting an absence of a significant explicitbias. The sample exhibited moderately strong implicit weight biases, however, in both the neutral (IAT D = .39) and exercise contexts (IAT D = .39). The findings do not support the premise that implicit biases against overweight individuals vary according to the context in which the judgments are made.
AB - Our study assessed implicit and explicit evaluations of overweight individuals among a sample of fitness center employees (N = 70). Participants completed a general demographics questionnaire and an explicit, self-report Antifat Attitudes Test (AFAT). Participants also completed two Implicit Association Tests (IATs) to measure implicit attitudes toward overweight individuals. In one IAT, participants responded to pictures of overweight and thin individuals in a neutral context. A second IAT required participants to respond to pictures of the same individuals exercising on a treadmill. Consistent with hypotheses, average scores fell below the midpoint on the AFAT subscales, suggesting an absence of a significant explicitbias. The sample exhibited moderately strong implicit weight biases, however, in both the neutral (IAT D = .39) and exercise contexts (IAT D = .39). The findings do not support the premise that implicit biases against overweight individuals vary according to the context in which the judgments are made.
M3 - Article
SN - 0270-1367
VL - 80
SP - 641
EP - 647
JO - Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport
JF - Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport
IS - 3
ER -