Kids on Race: The Hidden Picture

Tags: bodies, children/youth, inequality, prejudice/discrimination, race/ethnicity, implicit bias, interracial friendship, 06 to 10 mins
Year: 2012
Length: 9:28
Access: CNN

Summary: This Anderson Cooper clip examines children's views on race and interracial friendships. It shows how researchers viewed children (6-year olds and 13-year olds) ambiguous pictures of children with different colored skin, and asked them about what was happening in the pictures, if the children were friends, and if their parents would want them to be friends. It showed that both sets of children had clear understandings about race and that, at least the 13-year olds, had clearly experienced racist views from their families and their friends' families. Among the 6-year olds, young white children were more negative about interactions between children of different races and were far more likely to think black and white children would not be friends. The researcher discusses these experiences as part of an implicit bias, in which people are placed into stereotypes categories based on previous interactions and messages. See also this video of an experimental study showing children's racial bias, this video showing why racial diversity matters in forming view on race, and this video on the children's views on interracial friendships (all from Anderson Cooper).

Submitted By: Paul Dean

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