International Journal of Behavioral Development

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Davis, S. C.
Right arrow Articles by Barrett, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
International Journal of Behavioral Development, Vol. 31, No. 5, 514-525 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0165025407081461

Children's implicit and explicit ethnic group attitudes, ethnic group identification, and self-esteem

Stephanie C. Davis

University of Surrey, UK, daviss66{at}googlemail.com

Patrick J. Leman

Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

Martyn Barrett

University of Surrey, UK

An increasing amount of research explores how children distinguish different aspects of ethnic group attitudes. However, little work has focused on how these aspects tie in with other social and psychological processes. In the present study, 112 black and white children aged 5-, 7- and 9-years completed tests of implicit and explicit ethnic group attitudes, racial and ethnic identification, and self-esteem. Whereas all children exhibited coherent identification with ethnicity defined in terms of family ancestry, only black children identified with ethnicity as defined by racial colour terms. There were no differences in black and white children's self-esteem. Children from both ethnic groups stereotyped only the black character. This stereotyping was stable with age. Positivity was greater towards the black than the white target on implicit and explicit tasks. Negativity towards the white target was evidenced on the implicit task. Positivity, but not stereotyping, was greater on the explicit task compared with the implicit task. Black but not white children's in-group identification was associated with implicit in-group stereotypes. Self-esteem was related to in- and out-group stereotyping and positivity for white but not black children. The implications of these results for social identity development theory and social identity theory are discussed.

Key Words: ethnic group • explicit attitudes • identification • implicit attitudes • self-esteem

References

  • Aboud, F.E. (1988). Children and prejudice. New York: Blackwell .
  • Aboud, F., & Amato, M. (2001). Developmental and socialization influences on intergroup bias. In R. Brown & S.L. Gaertner (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Intergroup processes (pp. 65—85). Oxford: Blackwell .
  • Aboud, F.E., & Doyle, A.B. (1995). Development of in-group pride in Black Canadians . Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 26, 243—254 .[Abstract]
  • Alejandro-Wright, M.N. (1985) The child's conception of racial classification: A sociocogntiive developmental model. In M.B. Spencer, G.K. Brookins, & W.R. Allen (Eds.), Beginnings: The social and affective development of black children (pp. 185—200). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .
  • Ali, S. ( 2003). Mixed-race, post-race: New ethnicities and cultural practices. Oxford: Berg .
  • Back, L. (1996). New ethnicities and urban culture: Racisms and multiculture in young lives. London: UCL Press .
  • Baron, A.S., & Banaji, M.R. (2006). The development of implicit attitudes: Evidence of race evaluations from ages 6 and 10 and adulthood . Psychological Science, 17, 53—58 .[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Barrett, M. (in press). Children's knowledge, beliefs and feelings about nations and national groups. Hove: Psychology Press .
  • Bartlett, F.C. (1932). Remembering. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
  • Bennett, M., Lyons, E., Sani, F., & Barrett, M. (1998). Children's subjective identification with the group and ingroup favoritism . Developmental Psychology, 34, 902—909 .[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Bernal, M.E., & Knight, G.P. (Eds.) (1993). Ethnic identity: Formation and transmission among Hispanics and other minorities. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press .
  • Bigler, R.S. (1995). The role of classification skill in moderating environmental influences on children's gender stereotyping: A study of the functional use of gender in the classroom . Child Development, 66, 1072—1087 .[CrossRef][ISI]
  • Bigler R.S., & Liben L.S. (1993). A cognitive-developmental approach to racial stereotyping and reconstructive memory in Euro-American children . Child Development, 64, 1507—1518 .[CrossRef][ISI]
  • Brown, R. (1995). Prejudice: Its social psychology. Oxford: Blackwell .
  • Clark, K.B., & Clark, M.P. (1947). Racial identification and preference in Negro children. In T.M. Newcomb & E.L. Hartley (Eds.), Readings in Social Psychology (pp. 169—178). New York: Holt .
  • Cross, W.E. (1981). Black identity: Rediscovering the distinction between personal identity and references group orientation. Paper presented at Society for Research on Child Development Study Group, Emory University, Atlanta .
  • Cross, W.E. (1991). Shades of black. Philadelphia: Temple University Press .
  • Dalal, F. (2002). Race, colour and the processes of racialisation: New perspectives from group analysis, psychoanalysis and sociology. East Sussex: Brunner-Routledge .
  • Davis, S.C., & Leman, P.J. (2004). Children's implicit and explicit ethnic group attitudes. Poster presented at the 18th Biennial meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD), July 11—15, Ghent , Belgium.
  • Davis, S.C., Leman, P.J., & Smith, P.K. (2006). Explicit and implicit ethnic group attitudes and stereotypes in middle childhood. Manuscript submitted for publication.
  • Devos, T., & Banaji, M.R. (2005). American = White? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 447—466 .[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Dijksterhuis, A.P., & Van Knippenberg, A.D. (1995). Memory for stereotype-consistent and stereotype inconsistent information as a function of processing pace . European Journal of Social Psychology, 25, 689—693 .[CrossRef][ISI]
  • Doyle, A.B., Beaudet, J., & Aboud, F.E. (1988). Developmental patterns in the flexibility of children's ethnic attitudes . Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 19, 3—18 .[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Fazio, R.H., Jackson, J.R., Dunton, B.C., & Williams, C.J. (1995). Variability in automatic activation as an unobtrusive measure of racial attitudes: a bona fide pipeline ? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 1013—1027 .[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Fazio, R.H., & Olson, M.A. (2003). Implicit measures in social cognition research: Their meaning and use. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 297—327 .
  • Fine, M., & Bowers, C. (1984) Racial self-identification: The effects of history and gender . Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 14, 136—146 .[CrossRef][ISI]
  • Fyock, J., & Stangor, C. (1995). The role of memory biases in stereotype maintenance . British Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 331—343 .[ISI]
  • Greenwald, A.G., McGhee, D.E., & Schwartz, J.K.L. (1998). Measuring individual difference in implicit cognition: The implicit association test . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1464—1480 .[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Harter, S. (1985). Manual for the self-perception profile for children. Denver: University of Denver .
  • Hirschfeld, L.A. (1993). Discovering social difference: The role of appearance in the development of racial awareness . Cognitive Psychology, 25, 317—350 .[CrossRef][ISI]
  • Horowitz, E.L., & Horowitz, R.E. (1938). Development of social attitudes in children . Sociometry, 1, 301—338 .[CrossRef]
  • Hutchinson, J., & Smith, A.D. (1996). Introduction. In J. Hutchinson & A.D. Smith (Eds.), Ethnicity (pp. 1—14). Oxford: Oxford University Press .
  • Hutnik, N. (1985) Aspects of identify in a multi-ethnic society . New Community, 12, 298—309 .
  • Jensen, R. (2005). The heart of whiteness: Confronting race, racism and white privilege. San Francisco , CA: City Lights .
  • Killen, M., Lee-Kim, J., McGlothlin, H., & Stangor, C. (2002). How children and adolescents evaluate gender and racial exclusion . Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, Serial no. 271, Vol. 67, No. 4.
  • Leach, C.W. (2005). Against the notion of a "new racism ". Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 15, 432—445 .[CrossRef][ISI]
  • Lowery, B.S., Hardin, C.D., & Sinclair, S. (2001). Social influence effects on automatic racial prejudice . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 842—855 .[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Mahan, J. (1976) Black and white children's racial identification and preference . Journal of Black Psychology, 3, 47—53 .
  • Modood, T., Berthoud, R., Lakey, J., Nazroo, J., Smith, P., Virdee, S., & Beishon, S. (1997). Ethnic minorities in Britain: Diversity and disadvantage. London: Policy Studies Institute .
  • Nesdale, D. (1999a). Social identity and ethnic prejudice in children. In P. Martin & W. Noble (Eds.), Psychology and Society (pp. 92—110). Brisbane , Australia: Australian Academic Press .
  • Nesdale, D. (1999b). Developmental changes in children's ethnic preferences and social cognitions . Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 20, 501—519 .[CrossRef][ISI]
  • Nesdale, D. (2001). The development of prejudice in children. In M. Augostinos & K. Reynolds (Eds.), The Psychology of Prejudice and Racism (pp. 57—72). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .
  • Nesdale, D. (2004). Social identity and ethnic prejudice. In M. Bennett & F. Sani (Eds.), The Development of the Social Self. East Sussex: Psychology Press .
  • Nesdale, D., Durkin, K., Maass, A., & Griffiths, J. (2005a). Threat, group identification, and children's ethnic prejudice . Social Development, 14, 189—205 .[CrossRef][ISI]
  • Nesdale, D., Maass, A., Durkin, K., & Griffiths, J. (2005b). Group norms, threat, and children's racial prejudice . Child Development, 76, 652—663 .[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Oakes, P.J., Haslam, S.A., & Turner, J.C. (1994). Stereotyping and social reality. Oxford: Blackwell .
  • Ocampo, K., Knight, G., & Bernal, M. (1997). The development of cognitive abilities and social identities in children: The case of ethnic identity . International Journal of Behavioral Development, 21, 479—500 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Parekh, B. (2000). The future of multi-ethnic Britain: The Parekh report. London: The Runnymede Trust/Profile Books .
  • Powlishta, K.K. (1995). Gender bias in children's perceptions of personality traits . Sex Roles, 32, 17—28 .[CrossRef][ISI]
  • Pratto, F., Hegarty, P.J., & Korchmaros, J.D. (in press). Who gets stereotyped? How communication practices and category norms lead people to stereotype particular people and groups. In Y. Kashima, K. Fielder, & P. Freytag (Eds.), Dynamics: Language-based approaches to stereotype formation, maintenance and change. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .
  • Pratto, F., Korchmaros, J.D., & Hegarty, P.J. (in press). When race and gender go without saying. Manuscript submitted for publication.
  • Rutland, A., Cameron, L., Milne, A., & McGeorge, P. (2005). Social norms and self-presentation: Children's implicit and explicit intergroup attitudes . Child Development, 76, 451—466 .[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Semaj, L. (1980). The development of racial evaluations and preference: A cognitive approach . Journal of Black Psychology, 6(2), 59—79 .[Abstract]
  • Semaj, L. (1985). Afrikanity, cognition and extended self-identity. In M.B. Spencer, G.K. Brookins, & W.R. Allen (Eds.), Beginnings: Social and affective development of black children (pp 131—146). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .
  • Spencer, M.B. (1984). Black children's race awareness, racial attitudes and self-concept: A reinterpretation . Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 25, 433—441 .[ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Spencer, M.B. (1985) Cultural cognition and social cognition as identity correlates of black children's personal—social development. In M.B. Spencer, G.K. Brookings, & W.R. Allen (Eds.), Beginnings: The social and affective development of black children. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .
  • Spencer, M.B. (1988). Self-Concept Development in Black Children and Poverty: A Developmental perspective . New Directions for Child Development, 42. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass .
  • Spencer, M.B. (1982). Pre-school children's social cognition and cultural cognition: A cognitive developmental interpretation of race dissonance findings . The Journal of Psychology, 112, 275—286 .[ISI]
  • Spencer, M.B., & Markstrom-Adams, C.M. (1990). Identity processes among racial and ethnic minority children in America . Child Development, 61, 290—310 .[CrossRef][ISI]
  • Tajfel, H. (1978). Differentiation between social groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup relations. London: Academic Press .
  • Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W.G. Austin & S. Worschel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33—47). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks / Cole Publishing .
  • Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. (1986). The social identity of intergroup behaviour. In S. Worschel & W.G. Austin (Eds.), The psychology of intergroup relations (Vol. 2, pp. 7—24). New York: Nelson Hall .
  • Turner, J.C. (1999). Some current issues in research on social identity and selfcategorization theories. In N. Ellemers, R. Spears, & B. Doosje (Eds.), Social identity (pp. 6—34). Oxford: Blackwell .
  • Verkuyten, M. (2002). Ethnic attitudes among minority and majority children: The role of ethnic identification, peer group victimization and parents . Social Development, 11, 558—570 .[CrossRef][ISI]
  • Verkuyten, M., & Thijs, J. (2001). Ethnic and gender bias among Dutch and Turkish children in late childhood: The role of social context . Infant and Child Development, 10, 203—217 .[CrossRef][ISI]
  • Wilson, A. (1989). The developmental psychology of the black child . New York: Africana Research Publications .
  • Wilson, T.D., Lindsey, S., & Schooler, T.Y. (2000). A model of dual attitudes . Psychological Review, 107, 101—126 .[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Yee, M.D., & Brown, R. (1992) Self-evaluations and intergroup attitudes in children aged three to nine . Child Development, 63, 619—629 .[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 International Journal of Behavioral DevelopmentHome page
A. Rutland, D. Abrams, and S. Levy
Introduction: Extending the conversation: Transdisciplinary approaches to social identity and intergroup attitudes in children and adolescents
International Journal of Behavioral Development, September 1, 2007; 31(5): 417 - 418.
[PDF]

This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Davis, S. C.
Right arrow Articles by Barrett, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?