A sociological Observer Effect

Hmm. From Completing a Race IAT increases implicit racial bias by Ian Hussey & Jan De Houwer. From the Abstract:

The Implicit Association Test has been used in online studies to assess implicit racial attitudes in over seven million participants. Although typically used as an assessment measure, results from four pre-registered experiments (N= 940) demonstrated that completing a Race IAT exacerbates the negative implicit attitudes that it seeks to assess. Increases in White participants’ negative automatic racial evaluations of Black people were observed across two different implicit measures (SC-IAT and AMP) but did not generalize to another measure of automatic racial bias(Shooter Bias task). Results highlight an important caveat for the Race IAT, but also for many other forms of psychological assessment: that by measuring, we often perturb the system that we wish to understand.

The IAT has now been thoroughly discredited as an accurate, precise, or consistent measure of anything. It is still widely used among groups ideologically committed to the supposition that America is deeply and structurally racist but otherwise it has fallen off the credibility table.

What Hussey and de Houwer are reporting is that there is a sociological Heisenberg uncertainty principle in-play. We can know with great accuracy either the position of an electorn or its momentum. We cannot know both simultaneously.

Well, technically, Hussey and de Houwer are highlighting that there is an Observer Effect in-play. We cannot measure a thing without causing a change in the state of that thing. In this case with IAT,

By measuring, we often perturb the system that we wish to understand.

Trying to measure the degree of inferred racism inadvertently increases the degree of racism being measured. Sociology and politics are rife with these paradoxes. Some that leap to mind:

Seeking to reduce stereotypes by using affirmative action ends up increasing negative stereotypes.

Seeking to reduce economic inequality by using taxes and regulations ends up reducing economic well-being and increasing inequality.

Seeking to improve economic development in poor countries by transferring resources ends up slowing development.

And now we can add - seeking to measure racism increases racism.

Well, based on one study. But given past performance in sociology, it wouldn't be surprising if this isn't one of the few that might replicate.