Could a racial preference be caused by differences in attractiveness between the IATs White and Black faces?
This possibility is unlikely for at least two reasons. First, the faces used in IAT research are often composite, or blended, images based on faces that are similar in perceived attractiveness. Second, and more importantly, IAT results tend to be even stronger when the test uses names rather than faces (that is, when it uses words rather than images). These findings suggest that the IAT reflects racial biases, not simply differences in facial attractiveness.
