I've done some of these tests before, so I wasn't very surprised that three out of the four I had no implicit association/preference either way. I hadn't done the Native IAT though, and the results were surprising to me! I had a strong association with Native Americans and American and White Americans with foreign in that context, in the smallest result group...I think my experience growing up white in Hawaiʻi definitely colored that result. As a kid, I was bullied by my classmates for being haole (local term for white, with foreign connotations), and of course it was difficult at the time because I didn't have the tools to process it, but I think it was a pretty valuable experience. I am a foreigner in the place I grew up, I am a settler, and I am not entitled to this place by virtue of my racial position. I often feel that just in the way I navigate the land, that this place is not really mine. I went on a hike today and the thought of the politics of appreciating the beauty of the land crossed my mind, as I am reading a great book by a Hawaiian theorist and leader. She talks about how colonialism has prostituted these islands, making them into a metaphoric sexually available woman for white people to plunder and abuse. As I admired the beauty of the mountains, I thought about what I can't see and how I can create a healthier personal model in the meantime to relate to this place I was raised in. If Hawaiʻi is prostituted, how do I support her without funneling resources into her continued exploitation? And how can I move beyond this sexist metaphor to really begin to see this place as it is and has been beneath all the tourist trappings: not prostituted, but full and dynamic? The apparent end in sight to this train of thought as I'm exploring it is that there will always be an element of mystery to my experience of my young home. Full knowledge is not possible for me as a haole without some kind of presumptive violation, which would be doomed and mistaken. The course of the majority of haole histories of Hawaiʻi is demonstrably shallow, and that's something I wish to act against. It was affirming to see that my biases agree with me there.
oh also reading this back I just realized I forgot to say that my personal results were not really that surprising, but how they stacked up with the other respondents' definitely was...I think my education as a foreign white American in a place with a highly visible and commodified indigenous culture is something I take for granted more often than not. Kind of boggles me that people really do associate white Americans with American landscapes, which suggests to me that a substantial amount of white Americans claim ownership of those landscapes in a kind of private property mode...of course I'm extrapolating based on my understanding of colonialism through the book I'm reading and lessons learned over the years but it doesn't seem too far-fetched to me.
I am also a "local" haole raised on the Big Island, Maui and Oahu. My test results definitely reflected being raised in neighborhoods that were very multicultural. I had the same results as you had with the Native IAT about Native or Indigenous people. I often see a significant parallel between Native Americans and Hawaiians. Both indigenous people, both deceived, enslaved and murdered for their resources.
One of the test results that shocked me was that apparently see Asian Americans as foreign, but my step family is japanese and they became family when I was 10. Because of that, I have questions about experiences of trauma influencing the tests.
Wow. Yeah, it all seems to be tied up. I'd be curious to learn more about how the psychologists interpret the results in a pattern of actions and behaviours from the people being tested for bias. I imagine that having a bias either way isn't the final word in how you treat the people around you, but it would be interesting to see what patterns tend to emerge. Great that you're thinking about that and self-reflecting, thanks for sharing.
What is the title of the book you're reading, may I ask?
From a Native Daughter by Haunani Kay Trask! I was turned onto it by my Hawaiian Studies Professor and it is so excellent and challenging in all the best ways.
Sorry for the delay in responding, but thank you for that! I will add it to the 'to-read' list.
I have done all tests as well. I was actually surprised to know that it showed my preference toward one association although only slightly. I think it is because of my experience as a non-American, so I may have the bias.