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The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure As a Measure of Self-Esteem

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Abstract

Two studies were conducted to pilot the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) in measuring attitudes toward the self: one related to body image specifically and another assessing the broader construct of self-esteem. Study I utilized the IRAP with female college students to examine self-referential beliefs regarding body image. Results revealed positive associations between self-referential beliefs on the IRAP and explicit measures of body image satisfaction and acceptance, likelihood of dieting, and internalization of the thin ideal. In Study 2, an IRAP measuring general self-esteem revealed positive correlations between IRAP performance and explicit measures of psychological functioning and negative correlations between the IRAP and psychopathology. Results are discussed in terms of the potential utility of this theoretically grounded implicit measure in assessing self-concept.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pennsylvania, USA

    C. Alix Timko

  2. Drexel University, USA

    Erica L. England, James D. Herbert & Evan M. Forman

  3. Towson University, USA

    C. Alix Timko

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  1. C. Alix Timko
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  2. Erica L. England
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  3. James D. Herbert
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  4. Evan M. Forman
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Correspondence to C. Alix Timko.

Additional information

The authors thank Courtney Darcy, Michael Haas, Amy Neal, and Lily Brown for their assistance in data collection and entry. The authors also wish to thank Dermot Barnes-Holmes and an anonymous reviewer for their comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

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Timko, C.A., England, E.L., Herbert, J.D. et al. The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure As a Measure of Self-Esteem. Psychol Rec 60, 679–698 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395739

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