O procedimento de avaliação de relações implícitas (IRAP) como medida para investigar desesperança em idosos

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare two measures for hopelessness, one explicit (Beck's Hopelessness Inventory -BHS) and the other implicit (Implicit Relationship Assessment Procedure -IRAP) and to observe the patterns of responses in healthy, non-compromised elderly individuals cognitive or depressive symptoms, with age between 58 and 79 years. IRAP has been widely used in language and behavioral research to analyze patterns of relational responses acquired throughout the participants' learning history. The strength of these responses is measured by comparing the response patterns obtained in consistent and inconsistent blocks with respect to a previously established rule. The difference between the performances in the consistent and inconsistent blocks is called the IRAP effect, which reflects the response pattern of the individuals under pressure to respond quickly and accurately to various stimuli. Evidence involving IRAP shows that it is a useful procedure for accessing implicit cognitions about socially sensitive issues and that can be used as a tool for psychological assessment. In the present study, it was possible to verify that there is a correlation between the IRAP for hopelessness and the BHS Inventory; the data showed that as the BHS values were higher, implying that the participant explicitly showed impairment in his or her future vision, IRAP values of hopelessness become more negative, showing an identification bias with a more hopeless vision of the future. Thus, this study provides evidence that IRAP is a useful procedure for assessing the prospects of healthy older people in the future. As far as we know, it is the first work using IRAP as a psychological evaluation procedure in the elderly.