Medical Student Perception of Strabismus in Race Implicit Association Test.

Purpose: To determine whether the appearance of strabismus is noted in a race implicit association test by medical students.

Methods: Medical students participated in a survey evaluating for the appearance of strabismus in photographs from a commonly used race implicit association test. Analysis was performed to determine whether strabismus was perceived equally between both groups tested.

Results: Photographs of six individuals of African descent were perceived as having strabismus more frequently (62%) than photographs of individuals of European descent (31%; odds ratio: 3.85; 95% CI: 3.34 to 4.44; < .0001). Participants who identified as Black or African American similarly perceived strabismus more frequently in individuals of African descent (58%) than those of European descent (24%; odds ratio: 4.36; 95% CI: 2.13 to 8.96; < .0001).

Conclusions: Photographs used in a common race implicit association test appear to differ not only in ethnicity but also in extraocular alignment. Because extraocular alignment is a known cause of negative prejudice, results of this particular implicit association test should be interpreted with caution. .