1
|
Setoh P, Sudo M, Quinn PC, Lee K. Does extended experience with other-race nannies predict racial bias in the preschool years? J Exp Child Psychol 2023; 235:105729. [PMID: 37364430 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Most existing studies on racial bias reduction have used short-term interracial interaction interventions with fleeting effects. The current natural experiment examined whether daily interactions with other-race nannies relate to reduced racial bias in the preschool years. We capitalized on a unique child-rearing situation in Singapore whereby children are often cared for by other-race nannies since infancy. Singaporean Chinese 3- to 6-year-olds (N = 100) completed explicit and implicit racial bias measures assessing their preferential bias favoring own-race adults over adults of their nannies' race. Differential findings were obtained for children's explicit and implicit racial bias. Extensiveness, but not mere presence, of other-race nanny experience was associated with lower levels of explicit racial bias in children. In contrast, neither presence nor extensiveness of other-race nanny experience was associated with children's implicit racial bias. Together, these findings suggest that long-term and extensive contact with an other-race caregiver could have subtle mitigating effects on children's explicit, but not implicit, racial bias.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Peipei Setoh
- Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
| | - Mioko Sudo
- Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - Paul C Quinn
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
| | - Kang Lee
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V6, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Ivey Henry P, Spence Beaulieu MR, Bradford A, Graves JL. Embedded racism: Inequitable niche construction as a neglected evolutionary process affecting health. Evol Med Public Health 2023; 11:112-125. [PMID: 37197590 PMCID: PMC10184440 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoad007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Racial health disparities are a pervasive feature of modern experience and structural racism is increasingly recognized as a public health crisis. Yet evolutionary medicine has not adequately addressed the racialization of health and disease, particularly the systematic embedding of social biases in biological processes leading to disparate health outcomes delineated by socially defined race. In contrast to the sheer dominance of medical publications which still assume genetic 'race' and omit mention of its social construction, we present an alternative biological framework of racialized health. We explore the unifying evolutionary-ecological principle of niche construction as it offers critical insights on internal and external biological and behavioral feedback processes environments at every level of the organization. We Integrate insights of niche construction theory in the context of human evolutionary and social history and phenotype-genotype modification, exposing the extent to which racism is an evolutionary mismatch underlying inequitable disparities in disease. We then apply ecological models of niche exclusion and exploitation to institutional and interpersonal racial constructions of population and individual health and demonstrate how discriminatory processes of health and harm apply to evolutionarily relevant disease classes and life-history processes in which socially defined race is poorly understood and evaluated. Ultimately, we call for evolutionary and biomedical scholars to recognize the salience of racism as a pathogenic process biasing health outcomes studied across disciplines and to redress the neglect of focus on research and application related to this crucial issue.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paula Ivey Henry
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Angelle Bradford
- Department of Physiology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Joseph L Graves
- Department of Biology, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Oxytocin attenuates racial categorization in 14-month-old infants. Infant Behav Dev 2023; 71:101824. [PMID: 36863244 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2023.101824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023]
Abstract
Intergroup bias - the preferential attitudes one holds towards one's social group - is a ubiquitous socio-cognitive phenomenon. In fact, studies show that already in the first months of life, infants manifest a preference for members of their own social group. This points to the possibility of inborn mechanisms involved in social group cognition. Here we assess the effect of a biological activation of infants' affiliative motivation on their social categorization capacity. In a first visit to the lab, mothers self-administered either Oxytocin (OT) or placebo (PL) via a nasal spray and then engaged in a face-to-face interaction with their 14-month-old infants, a procedure previously shown to increase OT levels in infants. Infants then performed a racial categorization task presented on an eye-tracker. Mothers and infants returned a week later and repeated the procedure while self-administering the complementary substance (i.e., PL or OT, respectively). In total, 24 infants completed the two visits. We found that whereas infants in the PL condition on the first visit exhibited racial categorization, infants in the OT condition in their first visit did not. Moreover, these patterns remained a week later despite the change in substance. Thus, OT inhibited racial categorization when infants first encountered the to-be-categorized faces. These findings highlight the role of affiliative motivation in social categorization, and suggest that the neurobiology of affiliation may provide insights on mechanisms that may be involved in the downstream prejudicial consequences of intergroup bias.
Collapse
|
4
|
Elenwo C, Hendrix-Dicken A, Lin V, Gatewood A, Chesher T, Escala M, Hartwell M. Racial discrimination among children in the United States from 2016 to 2020: an analysis of the National Survey of Children's Health. J Osteopath Med 2023; 123:103-111. [PMID: 36351287 DOI: 10.1515/jom-2022-0175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
CONTEXT Sociological research has linked racism and discrimination among children to poorer health outcomes and social conditions later in life. OBJECTIVES Given the change in the political climate in the United States, highly publicized deaths of Black men and women by police, and the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans from 2016 through 2020, our primary objective was to assess trends in racial or ethnic discrimination among children in the United States. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), a nationally representative survey, utilizing data from 2016 to 2020. We calculated yearly population estimates of whether a child had experienced discrimination based on race/ethnicity via a parent-reported item. We further divided the estimates by race/ethnicity and plotted linear trends over time. RESULTS Data from the NSCH show that racial/ethnic discrimination reported by parents of children who are minorities increased from 6.7% in 2016 to approximately 9.3% in 2020. Indigenous children were reported to experience discrimination at high rates ranging from 10.8% in 2016 to 15.7% in 2020, as well as Black children ranging from 9.69% in 2018 to 15.04% in 2020. The percent of Asian, Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and Hispanic children reported to have experience discrimination was between 4.4 and 6.8% during this time. CONCLUSIONS Discrimination negatively impacts the developmental experiences of children, disproportionately affecting those identifying as Indigenous and Black. Therefore, addressing harmful stereotyping of Indigenous and Black cultures is necessary, especially in media targeted toward children. Providing culturally competent healthcare, critically in the Indigenous and Black pediatric population, may improve long-term outcomes by reducing discriminatory barriers to healthcare access.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Covenant Elenwo
- Office of Medical Student Research, Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine at Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, OK, USA
| | - Amy Hendrix-Dicken
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, OK, USA
| | - Vanessa Lin
- Office of Medical Student Research, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, USA
| | - Ashton Gatewood
- Office of Medical Student Research, Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine at Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, OK, USA
| | - Tessa Chesher
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, USA
| | - Michelle Escala
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, OK, USA
| | - Micah Hartwell
- Office of Medical Student Research, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Roth KC, Reynolds GD. Neural correlates of subordinate-level categorization of own- and other-race faces in infancy. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2022; 230:103733. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 07/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
|
6
|
Halbeisen G, Jaffé ME. Construal level mindsets modulate gender categorizations in preschool children. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2022; 229:103708. [PMID: 35964375 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Social categorization is a crucial information processing strategy that adults deliberately adjust depending on goals and situational requirements. This study investigated whether flexibility in categorization is similarly present among preschool children. More specifically, we tested whether spontaneous gender categorizations are more pronounced for children with a situationally induced abstract compared to concrete construal level mindset. Sixty-one children first participated in a construal mindset induction task before completing a visual variant of the "who said what" memory task. Systematic memory confusions indicated that all children engaged in gender-based social categorization but that this tendency was accentuated in the abstract compared to concrete mindset condition. These results suggest an ability of children to modulate social categorizations. Implications for the development of intergroup biases are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Mariela E Jaffé
- Center for Social Psychology, University of Basel, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Lee KJJ, Setoh P. The developmental trajectories of racial categorization and explicit racial biases in Singapore. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2022; 229:103694. [PMID: 35939973 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study investigated the development of racial categorization and explicit racial biases in Singaporean Chinese preschoolers (N = 73). Three- to six-year-olds were found to be generally adept at categorizing novel faces by race and displayed significant improvements in their racial categorization abilities at six years old. Additionally, the strength of children's racial preferences varied along the developmental trajectory. While three- and four-year-olds did not exhibit own-race preferences, five- and six-year-olds preferred to befriend own-race children and preferentially assigned desirable jobs to own-race adults. None of the age groups, however, displayed preferences for either race when assigning undesirable jobs to adults, pointing to an absence of negative outgroup bias from three to six years old. Lastly, children who were better able to categorize novel faces by race also showed stronger tendencies to assign undesirable jobs to other-race adults and thus stronger outgroup negativity. Together, our findings suggest that ingroup positivity precedes outgroup negativity, and that racial categorization plays an important role in the development of negative outgroup bias, hence providing further support for developmental theories on intergroup bias formation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kristy J J Lee
- Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Peipei Setoh
- Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Qian M, Heyman GD, Wu M, Fu G. Individuating multiple (not one) persons reduces implicit racial bias. Front Psychol 2022; 13:939811. [PMID: 35936246 PMCID: PMC9355476 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.939811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuation training that helps humans see multiple other-race targets as distinct rather than as interchangeable can reduce children’s implicit racial bias in the form of more negative other-race associations than own-race associations. However, little is known about which aspects of these interventions are critical for their effectiveness. The present research examines whether children need to learn to differentiate among multiple other-race individuals for these interventions to reduce their level of implicit racial bias, or whether differentiating a single other-race individual is sufficient. We addressed this question among 4-to-6-year-old Chinese children (N = 66, 31 girls) who engaged in coordinated movement with Black instructors for 2 min. There were two between-subject conditions: in a differentiation condition, there were four different Black instructors, and children had to learn to tell them apart, and in a no-differentiation condition, there was only one Black instructor. Implicit bias was measured using the IRBT, an implicit association test that was developed based on the IAT but is appropriate for young children. We found a reduction in implicit bias against Black people after this interaction in the differentiation condition, but not in the no-differentiation condition. These findings suggest that learning to differentiate among multiple other-race individuals plays a critical role in reducing children’s implicit racial bias.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Miao Qian
- Department of Psychology, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI, United States
- *Correspondence: Miao Qian,
| | - Gail D. Heyman
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Mingzhan Wu
- Department of Psychology, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Genyue Fu
- Department of Psychology, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
- Genyue Fu,
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Heck IA, Shutts K, Kinzler KD. Children's thinking about group-based social hierarchies. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:593-606. [PMID: 35606254 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Wealth, power, and status are distributed unevenly across social groups. A surge of recent research reveals that people being recognizing, representing, and reasoning about group-based patterns of inequity during the first years of life. We first synthesize recent research on what children learn about group-based social hierarchies as well as how this learning occurs. We then discuss how children not only learn about societal structures but become active participants in them. Studying the origins and development of children's thoughts and behavior regarding group-based social hierarchies provides valuable insight into how systems of inequity are perpetuated across generations and how intergroup biases related to wealth, power, and status may be mitigated and reshaped early in development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Isobel A Heck
- University of Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Kristin Shutts
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Psychology, Madison, WI 53711, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
10
|
Neoh MJY, Setoh P, Bizzego A, Tandiono M, Foo JN, Lee A, Bornstein MH, Esposito G. Gene-Environment Interactions in Face Categorization: Oxytocin Receptor Genotype x Childcare Experience Shortens Reaction Time. Front Psychol 2022; 13:873676. [PMID: 35756198 PMCID: PMC9222134 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.873676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Human faces capture attention, provide information about group belonging, and elicit automatic prepared responses. Early experiences with other-race faces play a critical role in acquiring face expertise, but the exact mechanism through which early experience exerts its influence is still to be elucidated. Genetic factors and a multi-ethnic context are likely involved, but their specific influences have not been explored. This study investigated how oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) genotypes and childcare experience interacted to regulate face categorization in adults. Information about single nucleotide polymorphisms of OXTR (rs53576) and experiences with own- and other-race child caregivers was collected from 89 Singaporean adults, who completed a visual categorization task with own- versus other-race faces. Participants were grouped into A/A homozygotes and G carriers and assigned a score to account for their type of child caregiver experience. A multivariate linear regression model was used to estimate the effect of genetic group, child caregiver experience, and their interaction on categorization reaction time. A significant interaction of genetic group and child caregiver experience (t = 2.48, p = 0.015), as well as main effects of both genetic group (t = −2.17, p = 0.033) and child caregiver experience (t = −4.29, p < 0.001) emerged. Post-hoc analysis revealed that the correlation between categorization reaction time and child caregiver experience was significantly different between the two genetic groups. A significant gene x environment interaction on face categorization appears to represent an indirect pathway through which genes and experiences interact to shape mature social sensitivity to faces in human adults.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Jin Yee Neoh
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Peipei Setoh
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Andrea Bizzego
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Moses Tandiono
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Human Genetics, Genome Institute of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jia Nee Foo
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Human Genetics, Genome Institute of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Albert Lee
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Marc H Bornstein
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD, United States.,Institute for Fiscal Studies, London, United Kingdom.,UNICEF, New York, NY, United States
| | - Gianluca Esposito
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Anzures G, Mildort M, Fennell E, Bell C, Soethe E. Race and early face-sensitive event-related potentials in children and adults. J Exp Child Psychol 2022; 214:105287. [PMID: 34507182 PMCID: PMC8691419 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Studies examining children's face perception have revealed developmental changes in early and face-sensitive event-related potential (ERP) components. Children also tend to show racial biases in their face perception and evaluation of others. The current study examined how early face-sensitive ERPs are influenced by face race in children and adults. A second objective examined face recognition proficiency and implicit racial bias in relation to ERP responses to own- and other-race faces. Electroencephalographic responses were recorded while Caucasian children and adults viewed Caucasian and East Asian faces. Participants also completed recognition tasks and an IAT with Caucasian and East Asian faces. Other-race faces elicited larger P100 amplitudes than own-race faces. Furthermore, adults with better other-race recognition proficiency showed larger P100 amplitude responses to other-race faces compared with adults with worse other-race recognition proficiency. In addition, larger implicit biases favoring own-race individuals were associated with larger P100 to N170 peak-to-peak amplitudes for other-race faces in adults. In contrast, larger implicit biases favoring own-race individuals were associated with smaller P100 to N170 peak-to-peak amplitudes for both own- and other-race faces in 8- to 10-year-olds. There was also an age-related decrease in P100 to N170 peak-to-peak amplitudes for own-race faces among 5- to 10-year-olds with better own-race recognition proficiency. The age-related decrease in N170 latency for other-race faces was also more pronounced in 5- to 10-year-olds with better other-race recognition proficiency. Thus, recognition proficiency and implicit racial bias are associated with early ERP responses in adults and children, but in different ways.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gizelle Anzures
- Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431 USA,FAU Brain Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431 USA,Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431 USA
| | - Melissa Mildort
- Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431 USA
| | - Eli Fennell
- Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431 USA
| | - Cassandra Bell
- Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431 USA
| | - Elizabeth Soethe
- Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431 USA
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Yu C, Qian M, Amemiya J, Fu G, Lee K, Heyman GD. Young children form generalized attitudes based on a single encounter with an outgroup member. Dev Sci 2021; 25:e13191. [PMID: 34775669 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2020] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The goal of the present research was to assess whether children's first interaction with a single outgroup member can significantly impact their general attitudes toward the outgroup as a whole. In two preregistered studies, 5- to 6-year-old Chinese children (total N = 147) encountered a Black adult from another country for the very first time, and they played a game together. General attitudes toward the outgroup were assessed using both implicit and explicit measures. In both studies, the interaction resulted in less negative explicit attitudes toward Black people, but more negative implicit attitudes. The results demonstrate for the first time that one encounter with a single outgroup member can impact children's general attitudes toward that group, and that it can have differential effects on implicit and explicit attitudes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chengfei Yu
- Department of Psychology, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Miao Qian
- Department of Psychology, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, Michigan, USA
| | - Jamie Amemiya
- Department of Psychology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, USA
| | - Genyue Fu
- Department of Psychology, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Kang Lee
- Institute of Child Study, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Gail D Heyman
- Department of Psychology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, USA
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Waxman SR. Racial Awareness and Bias Begin Early: Developmental Entry Points, Challenges, and a Call to Action. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2021; 16:893-902. [PMID: 34498529 DOI: 10.1177/17456916211026968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Overt expressions of racial intolerance have surged precipitously. The dramatic uptick in hate crimes and hate speech is not lost on young children. But how, and how early, do children become aware of racial bias? And when do their own views of themselves and others become infused with racial bias? This article opens with a brief overview of the existing experimental evidence documenting developmental entry points of racial bias in infants and young children and how it unfolds. The article then goes on to identify gaps in the extant research and outlines three steps to narrow them. By bringing together what we know and what remains unknown, the goal is to provide a springboard, motivating a more comprehensive psychological-science framework that illuminates early steps in the acquisition of racial bias. If we are to interrupt race bias at its inception and diminish its effects, then we must build strong cross-disciplinary bridges that span the psychological and related social sciences to shed light on the pressing issues facing our nation's young children and their families.
Collapse
|
14
|
Ferera M, Pun A, Baron AS, Diesendruck G. The effect of familiarity on infants' social categorization capacity. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0247710. [PMID: 33661945 PMCID: PMC7932097 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies indicate that a preference for people from one’s own race emerges early in development. Arguably, one potential process contributing to such a bias has to do with the increased discriminability of own- vs. other-race faces–a process commonly attributed to perceptual narrowing of unfamiliar groups’ faces, and analogous to the conceptual homogenization of out-groups. The present studies addressed two implications of perceptual narrowing of other-race faces for infants’ social categorization capacity. In Experiment 1, White 11-month-olds’ (N = 81) looking time at a Black vs. White face was measured under three between-subjects conditions: a baseline “preference” (i.e., without familiarization), after familiarization to Black faces, or after familiarization to White faces. Compared to infants’ a priori looking preferences as revealed in the baseline condition, only when familiarized to Black faces did infants look longer at the "not-familiarized-category" face at test. According to the standard categorization paradigm used, such longer looking time at the novel (i.e., "not-familiarized-category") exemplar at test, indicated that categorization of the familiarized faces had ensued. This is consistent with the idea that prior to their first birthday, infants already tend to represent own-race faces as individuals and other-race faces as a category. If this is the case, then infants might also be less likely to form subordinate categories within other-race than own-race categories. In Experiment 2, infants (N = 34) distinguished between an arbitrary (shirt-color) based sub-categories only when shirt-wearers were White, but not when they were Black. These findings confirm that perceptual narrowing of other-race faces blurs distinctions among members of unfamiliar categories. Consequently, infants: a) readily categorize other-race faces as being of the same kind, and b) find it hard to distinguish between their sub-categories.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matar Ferera
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
- Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
- * E-mail:
| | - Anthea Pun
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Andrew Scott Baron
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Gil Diesendruck
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
- Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Singh L, Moh Y, Ding X, Lee K, Quinn PC. Cognitive flexibility and parental education differentially predict implicit and explicit racial biases in bilingual children. J Exp Child Psychol 2021; 204:105059. [PMID: 33387897 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2020.105059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Revised: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 11/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Prior research has suggested that bilingual children demonstrate reduced social bias relative to their monolingual peers. In particular, they exhibit less implicit bias against racial outgroups. However, the cognitive determinants of racial bias in bilingual children remain unclear. In the current study, relationships between racial bias and three cognitive factors (inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and perspective-taking ability), along with language proficiency and parental education, were investigated in a sample of bilingual preschoolers (N = 55). Children were bilingual learners of English and Mandarin. Results demonstrated that implicit bias was predicted by cognitive flexibility, independent of variation in inhibitory control, second language vocabulary, perspective taking, and parental education. In contrast, explicit bias was predicted by parental education alone and not by cognitive or linguistic factors. Findings suggest that increased cognitive flexibility, often thought to be an outgrowth of bilingual experience, may also be associated with a reduction in implicit bias. Findings are discussed in terms of specific mechanisms that may link cognitive factors, bilingualism, and racial bias.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Leher Singh
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117570, Singapore.
| | - Yvonne Moh
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117570, Singapore
| | - Xiaopan Ding
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117570, Singapore
| | - Kang Lee
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V6, Canada
| | - Paul C Quinn
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Qian M, Yu C, Fu G, Cirelli LK. Shaping children's racial bias through interpersonal movement. J Exp Child Psychol 2020; 198:104884. [PMID: 32645522 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2019] [Revised: 03/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The early emergence of racial biases points to the urgent need to understand how interpersonal experiences might shape them. We examined whether interpersonal movement shapes racial biases among 4- to 6-year-old Chinese children who had no prior contact with Black people. In Experiment 1 (N = 134), children played a musical game, moving either in or out of synchrony with a Chinese or Black adult. In Experiment 2 (N = 30), children were merely exposed to a Black adult. Across the two experiments, we found that synchronous movement increased children's feeling of social closeness toward their movement partner to a greater extent than asynchronous movement regardless of the partner's race. After moving in or out of synchrony with the Chinese adult, synchrony selectively increased children's explicit positive pro-own-race bias. However, after moving in or out of synchrony with the Black adult, both movement styles reduced explicit anti-other-race bias. Experiment 2 ruled out mere exposure to an other-race person as a driving factor for these effects. Our results suggest that musical engagement may be a promising intervention for reducing negative intergroup biases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Miao Qian
- Department of Psychology, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China; Institute of Child Study, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5R 2X2, Canada; Inequality in America Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
| | - Chengfei Yu
- Department of Psychology, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China
| | - Genyue Fu
- Department of Psychology, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China.
| | - Laura K Cirelli
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, Ontario M1C 1A4, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Woo PJ, Quinn PC, Méary D, Lee K, Pascalis O. A developmental investigation of the other-race categorization advantage in a multiracial population: Contrasting social categorization and perceptual expertise accounts. J Exp Child Psychol 2020; 197:104870. [PMID: 32563132 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2019] [Revised: 04/13/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Most prior studies of the other-race categorization advantage have been conducted in predominantly monoracial societies. This limitation has left open the question of whether tendencies to more rapidly and accurately categorize other-race faces reflect social categorization (own-race vs. other-race) or perceptual expertise (frequent exposure vs. infrequent exposure). To address this question, we tested Malay and Malaysian Chinese children (9- and 10-year-olds) and adults on (a) own-race faces (i.e., Malay faces for Malay participants and Chinese faces for Malaysian Chinese participants), (b) high-frequency other-race faces (i.e., Chinese faces for Malay participants and Malay faces for Malaysian Chinese participants), and (c) low-frequency other-race faces (i.e., Caucasian faces). Whereas the other-race categorization advantage was in evidence in the accuracy data of Malay adults, other aspects of performance were supportive of either the social categorization or perceptual expertise accounts and were dependent on the race (Malay vs. Chinese) or age (child vs. adult) of the participants. Of particular significance is the finding that Malaysian Chinese children and adults categorized own-race Chinese faces more rapidly than high-frequency other-race Malay faces. Thus, in accord with a perceptual expertise account, the other-race categorization advantage seems to be more an advantage for racial categories of lesser experience regardless of whether these face categories are own-race or other-race.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pei Jun Woo
- Department of Psychology, Sunway University, 47500 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
| | - Paul C Quinn
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
| | - David Méary
- Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition (LPNC), University of Grenoble-Alpes, 38400 Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France
| | - Kang Lee
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V6, Canada
| | - Olivier Pascalis
- Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition (LPNC), University of Grenoble-Alpes, 38400 Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Abstract
Social categorization is a universal mechanism for making sense of a vast social world with roots in perceptual, conceptual, and social systems. These systems emerge strikingly early in life and undergo important developmental changes across childhood. The development of social categorization entails identifying which ways of classifying people are culturally meaningful, how these categories might be used to predict, explain, and evaluate the behavior of other people, and how one's own identity relates to these systems of categorization and representation. Social categorization can help children simplify and understand their social environment but has detrimental consequences in the forms of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. Thus, understanding how social categorization develops is a central problem for the cognitive, social, and developmental sciences. This review details the multiple developmental processes that underlie this core psychological capacity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marjorie Rhodes
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Andrew Baron
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Skinner AL, Olson KR, Meltzoff AN. Acquiring group bias: Observing other people's nonverbal signals can create social group biases. J Pers Soc Psychol 2019; 119:824-838. [PMID: 31524429 DOI: 10.1037/pspi0000218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Evidence of group bias based on race, ethnicity, nationality, and language emerges early in the life span. Although understanding the initial acquisition of group bias has critical theoretical and practical implications, precisely how group biases are acquired has been understudied. In two preregistered experiments, we tested the hypothesis that generalized social group biases can be acquired through exposure to positive nonverbal signals directed toward a novel adult from one group and more negative nonverbal signals directed toward a novel adult from another group. We sought to determine whether children would acquire global nonverbal signal-consistent social group biases that extended beyond their explicit social preferences, by measuring children's preferences, imitation, and behavioral intentions. Supporting our preregistered hypotheses, preschool-age participants favored small and large groups whose member received positive nonverbal signals, relative to groups whose member received more negative nonverbal signals. We also replicated prior work indicating that children will acquire individual target biases from the observation of biased nonverbal signals. Here we make the case that generalized social group biases can be rapidly and unintentionally transmitted on the basis of observational learning from nonverbal signals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Collapse
|
20
|
Qian MK, Heyman GD, Quinn PC, Fu G, Lee K. Differential developmental courses of implicit and explicit biases for different other-race classes. Dev Psychol 2019; 55:1440-1452. [PMID: 30945884 PMCID: PMC6586506 DOI: 10.1037/dev0000730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the developmental courses of both implicit and explicit racial biases in relation to the perceived social status of outgroups. We did so by assessing these biases among Chinese participants (N = 200, age range from 4- to 19-year-olds) toward 2 different other-race groups that differ in terms of perceived social status (i.e., Whites and Blacks). At the youngest age, children showed both implicit anti-White and anti-Black bias at similar levels. However, these biases had different patterns of age-related change: implicit anti-Black bias remained strong and stable over time, whereas implicit anti-White bias declined after age 10. For explicit bias, children showed a decline in anti-Black and anti-White bias. Implicit and explicit biases were uncorrelated at all ages. The observed age-related changes demonstrate that it is possible for patterns of biases toward different races to diverge with age, and that perceived social status may contribute to the differential developmental patterns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Miao K. Qian
- School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
- Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Gail D. Heyman
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, USA
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Paul C. Quinn
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, USA
| | - Genyue Fu
- School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Kang Lee
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
- Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Quinn PC, Lee K, Pascalis O. Face Processing in Infancy and Beyond: The Case of Social Categories. Annu Rev Psychol 2019; 70:165-189. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-102753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Prior reviews of infant face processing have emphasized how infants respond to faces in general. This review highlights how infants come to respond differentially to social categories of faces based on differential experience, with a focus on race and gender. We examine six different behaviors: preference, recognition, scanning, category formation, association with emotion, and selective learning. Although some aspects of infant responding to face race and gender may be accounted for by traditional models of perceptual development, other aspects suggest the need for a broader model that links perceptual development with social and emotional development. We also consider how responding to face race and gender in infancy may presage responding to these categories beyond infancy and discuss how social biases favoring own-race and female faces are formed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paul C. Quinn
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
| | - Kang Lee
- Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5R 2X2, Canada
| | - Olivier Pascalis
- Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition, Université Grenoble Alpes, 38400 Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France
| |
Collapse
|