Implicit Association Tests
Measuring automatic associations to support behavioural insight, evaluation and policy design.
The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a behavioural research method that measures how quickly people associate concepts (for example, gender–career, migration–threat, technology–trust). These reaction-time patterns reveal automatic associations that are often not captured through surveys or interviews alone.
An IAT platform built for applied research.
Headway develops and operates an IAT platform designed for applied research and innovation projects, where methodological rigour, usability and interpretability need to coexist.
What the IAT adds to research and innovation projects.
In many research and innovation projects, understanding behaviour requires more than self-reported attitudes. The IAT complements traditional methods by offering insight into implicit dimensions of perception, helping projects:
- Explore gaps between stated views and automatic responses.
- Assess the effects of training or awareness interventions.
- Enrich evaluation and impact analysis.
- Generate evidence for policy recommendations.
Headway’s approach.
From method to project-ready tool — designed to embed smoothly into pilots, evaluations, training activities and user studies.
From method to project-ready tool
We translate established IAT methodology into fully implemented, configurable digital tools that can be embedded in pilots, evaluations, training activities or user studies. Each implementation is tailored to the project’s thematic focus, target groups and deployment context, while preserving methodological validity.
Comparative results and advanced visualisation
Beyond individual feedback, our platform enables group-level and cohort comparisons. Partners can analyse distributions, contrasts between groups, and changes over time through clear, project-ready visual outputs that support evaluation, reporting and dissemination.
Integrated implicit–explicit analysis
We combine IAT results with explicit responses (e.g. survey items, attitudes, demographics or contextual variables). This allows projects to examine where implicit associations align — or diverge — from stated views, producing richer behavioural insight without increasing respondent burden.
Linguistically informed stimulus design
The concepts measured in an IAT depend critically on the words and stimuli used. We support partners in selecting and weighting stimuli using computational linguistic approaches (including BERT-based semantic similarity and frequency analysis), ensuring cultural and linguistic relevance across countries and languages.
Use in EU-funded projects
Headway typically supports consortia as an innovation or research SME, contributing behavioural-science components in Horizon Europe, CERV, Erasmus+, Interreg and related programmes; digital tools for pilots and user studies; analytical input for evaluation, impact assessment and policy-oriented deliverables; and methodological innovation aligned with Work Package objectives.
Our tools are designed to integrate smoothly into project workflows and reporting requirements.
Working with Headway: If your project requires a robust yet usable approach to measuring implicit attitudes or behavioural patterns, Headway can design, implement and analyse the IAT component in close collaboration with partners.
Contact us to discuss your project needs