The Implicit Association Test as a tool for studying dysfunctional associations in psychopathology: strengths and limitations

Dysfunctional beliefs and associations are assumed to play a crucial role in various forms of psychopathology. Recently, it has been suggested that the Implicit Association Test (IAT) provides a better way to assess those associations than traditional self-report measures. During the IAT, participants classify items as belonging to one of four concepts. Results show that performance is superior when associated concepts are assigned to the same response than when associated concepts are assigned to different responses. I present an overview of the available literature on the IAT and evaluate the usefulness of this task as a tool for clinically oriented research