What are implicit measures and indirect measures of attitude?

Abstract

In this paper, I argue that implicit measures are best conceived of as outcomes of measurement procedures that have certain functional properties. This definition calls for a conditional approach in which one specifies for each measure the functional properties that the term ‘implicit’ is meant to refer to and in which the functional properties of each measure are examined empirically. The expression ‘indirect measure’ on the other hand refers to an objective property of measurement procedure, being that the researcher does not assess the attitude on the basis of a self-assessment by the participant but on the basis of another behaviour.