Do you have hair bias?

Take the Hair IAT to find out. 

The “Hair IAT” is a computerized task assessing implicit attitudes toward black women’s hair, created by Perception Institute, in conjunction with SheaMoisture, manufactured by Sundial Brands. It takes fewer than 10 minutes to complete.

Important disclaimer: Following completion of the Hair IAT task, you will receive results. In reporting these results, we will mention possible interpretations that have a basis in existing research. However, we make no claim for the validity of these suggested interpretations. If you are unprepared to encounter interpretations that you might find objectionable, please do not proceed further.

About Your Hair IAT Result

Your Hair IAT result can be understood to be suggestive of your implicit (unconscious) attitudes toward black women’s hair. Your Hair IAT result is described in terms of your association between Pleasant and textured or smooth hairstyles. The “association” is how quickly your brain unconsciously links pleasant words with textured or smooth hairstyles.

The result states “you associate Pleasant with smooth hairstyles” if you were faster at responding when smooth hairstyles and Pleasant were assigned to the same response key than when textured hair and Pleasant were assigned to the same key. Your result states “you associate Pleasant with textured hairstyles” if the opposite occurred. Your results states that “you do not associate Pleasant with textured hairstyles any more or less than you associate smooth hairstyles with pleasant” if you were equally fast in responding.

The Hair IAT requires a certain number of correct responses in order to get results. If you made too many errors while completing the test, you will get the feedback that there were too many errors to determine a result.

Special thanks to Dr. Emily Balcetis and New York University’s SPAM Lab for their technical expertise and support of the Hair IAT.

Click here to learn more about Perception Institute’s innovative “Good Hair” Study