ABSTRACT
In contrast to the reliance on self-reports in explicit measures, implicit measures infer mental contents from responses on performance-based tasks. The current chapter provides an introduction to implicit measures, their use in basic and applied psychology, and the theoretical meaning of their measurement outcomes. Expanding on an overview of available instruments, the chapter discusses various factors that lead to converging versus diverging outcomes on implicit and explicit measures, and how implicit measures can complement explicit measures in individual difference and experimental designs. Although implicit measures have been assumed to overcome the limits of explicit measures in capturing thoughts and feelings that people are either unwilling or unable to report, the available evidence suggests that the relation between implicit and explicit measures cannot be reduced to motivational distortions and lack of introspective access. The chapter concludes with some caveats against these and various other assumptions in research using implicit measures, offering empirically based guidance in their use and interpretation.
