Assessing the Predictive Validity of the Function Acquisition Speed Test in the Context of Voting Behavior
摘要
The current research assessed the utility of the Function Acquisition Speed Test (FAST) in predicting group affiliation and voting behavior in relation to abortion rights. Participants, consisting of those with a self-declared pro-life or pro-choice attitude, were exposed to a FAST procedure, along with an Implicit Association Test (IAT) and an explicit attitude to abortion questionnaire. Significant differences in test scores were observed across the pro-life and pro-choice groups, as well as across the Yes and No referendum voters for both the FAST and IAT. All three tests predicted pro-life and pro-choice group membership and voting behavior satisfactorily. The IAT and FAST both correlated highly with scores on the explicit attitude scale. In addition, FAST and IAT scores were found to satisfactorily predict voting behavior even when scored using each other’s scoring algorithms. Importantly, a logistic regression analysis showed that neither the FAST nor the IAT added significant predictive value beyond that of the explicit measure alone. The implications of these findings for the utility of the FAST for behavioral prediction are discussed.