Assessing the impact of replication on implicit association test effect by means of the extended logistic model for the assessment of change

The present study consists of a longitudinal investigation in which implicit association measures were collected by means of the implicit association test (IAT), with the purpose of assessing the impact of replication on the test effect with the same participants. The extended logistic model for the assessment of change (ELMAC), a procedure that belongs to Rasch modeling, was applied. By means of the ELMAC application, the existence of latent traits characteristic of the impact on the IAT effect (due to replication through time) is shown; more precisely, the model time parameters show the decrement of the IAT effect through time, due to the decrease of the implicit preference in both conditions, compatible and incompatible, associated with sweet foods and salty foods. The results confirm that in the long run, the incompatible condition latency may approach the compatible condition latency, causing a significant attenuation of the IAT effect.