I think the idea is that you get used to the format of the test. They don't want you going through the test saying "this is stupid...why am I doing it?" They want you to understand the point straight up, and work your hardest on getting the answer "right."
I am currently reading a book, "Blink" (new in the hardcover section of your Barnes & Noble), which describes the phenomenon. The simple interpretation is that our brains are "hardwired" from a young age to associate certain things together....and no amount of understanding how the test works will allow you to circumvent those connections. I am sure this is true (see story below), and yet I continue to find the test disturbing.
Yes, there is potentially a hand bias. That's why they have you switch hands halfway though the test -- white goes from being an "e" to an "i" -- and there is also a bias towards the order of the pairings, which it **claims** they account for. I am not certain the test is perfect, but I do feel it is relatively accurate.
Of the tests I took:
* I am slightly preferential to white people vs. black
* I am moderately biased against homosexuals (and this one bothers me most!)
* I am slightly biased towards overweight people (not against)
* I show NO preference towards Abraham Lincoln vs. George W Bush (this is the one that I question most -- I HATE Pres Bush, but I guess maybe Lincoln isn't real enough to me?)
* I show slight bias towards men being more likely to have a career in the sciences (funny but true...even though I AM a Chemical Engineer)
~~~story~~~
What got me down this line of thinking was that last Sunday I was lazing around home on my couch...working away....when I had someone ring the doorbell. I was wearing my spendex workout outfit (my typical lounging gear) and hesitantly went to the doorway (I *knew* the person could see me through the window). It was a tall black man. I opened the door, palms sweaty and hands shaking, only because I am *polite* and it was the middle of the day.......I was *convinced* this man was up to no good, but I thought I'd yell and scream and be OK (wouldn't have done it if it was late at night or if my neighbor wasn't in his front yard).
The man asked me if this was the OPEN HOUSE (I *do* have a realty sign out). I said no and shut the door, feeling like I'd run a marathon, I'd been so scared.
Then I analyzed what I saw as the man walked down the steps. He was clean-cut, dress-slacks wearing, Starbucks-coffee drinking black man who had scared me. LMAO. I visit open houses looking like a hobo, and this good-looking guy scared me?!?...just cause he is black?
That made me think. Now, I grew up poor white trash in a neighborhood of black people and never felt uncomfortable. I even dated a black guy for a while. And I still had this "hard wired" fear. I know I re-analyze it and try to compensate, but I am sure I'm not always successful.
That's the stuff that makes me feel ashamed of myself.
And I guess the test confirmed the suspicion.