Measuring automatic value orientations: The Achievement–Benevolence Implicit Association Test

The construct and criterion validity of an Implicit Association Test designed to rate the importance ascribed to Achievement-Benevolence oriented goals (AB-IAT) according to Schwartz's model were investigated. In a first study (N = 113), the AB-IAT and three other value-IATs (Power-Universalism, Security-Self-direction, and Tradition-Stimulation) were administered along with the corresponding self-report scales. The AB-IAT showed the following: (1) an adequate internal consistency; (2) a small correlation and a different pattern of means with respect to the corresponding self-report scale; (3) a pattern of correlations with the other value-IATs that is consistent with Schwartz's model. In a second study (N = 99), results showed that (1) in contrast to self-report measures of values, the AB-IAT appeared unrelated to social desirability; (2) the AB-IAT was significantly correlated with an actual behaviour expressing Benevolence values; (3) in accordance with a double dissociation pattern of prediction, implicit and explicit values are best predictors of actual and self-rated behaviours, respectively. Overall, results of the studies support the construct and criterion validity of the AB-IAT. Moreover, they provide a first support for the generalizability of Schwartz's model in the realm of implicit social cognition, and for the applicability of dual-process models in value research.