Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure
Computer-based psychological measure
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Through Open-source software
Application and use
Procedure
A computer-based measure, the IRAP requires individuals to accurately and quickly respond to the relation between two stimuli presented on screen (e.g., to "dog" and "woof") using one of two response options (e.g., "similar" and "different"). Across pairs of blocks, individuals must respond using two contrasting response patterns, for example "dog-woof-similar" versus "dog-woof-different". Reaction times are then compared between these blocks. Any difference in response time between the two block types is defined as an IRAP effect. According to the creators, "the basic hypothesis is that average response latencies should be shorter across blocks of consistent relative to inconsistent trials. In other words, participants should respond more rapidly to relational tasks that reflect their current beliefs than to tasks that do not".
Implementations
The IRAP was first implemented in Visual Basic 6, and distributed for free for academic use but under a closed source by Dermot Barnes-Holmes. A multi-platform, open-source implementation written in PsychoPy is also available on the Open Science Framework.