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THE RESEARCH IS IN

Bias Starts as Early as Preschool, but Can be Unlearned A new study finds that children show bias at a surprisingly young age. But teachers have ways to address this and create a welcoming classroom.

By Amanda Armstrong

June 4, 2019

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We know that teens and adults can demonstrate social bias toward people from cultures different from their own. But

what about young children? Do they show bias toward peers based on identity groups? Researchers at Northwestern

University sought to provide more insight into this issue in a new study

with 4- and 5-year-olds.

Using an implicit bias test commonly given to adults, researchers found that the children rated images of black boys

less favorably than images of white boys and girls, with images of black girls falling in the middle.

Young children are “astute observers of the social world,” and this can have pernicious effects on how they perceive

race and gender, according to Danielle Perszyk, a psychologist at Northwestern University, and her colleagues. The

majority of children in the study—both black and white—had a “strong and consistent pro-white bias.”

To explore how young children may show racial and gender bias, the researchers conducted two experiments to

examine whether preschool children are aware of and demonstrate bias toward other children based on both race and

gender. The researchers looked at young children’s implicit and explicit biases toward four groups: black males, black

females, white males, and white females.

In the first experiment, the children were divided into two groups, and each group was shown the same order of four

images: a prime image—one that might cause them to have a positive or negative reaction to a subsequent image; a

blank screen; a neutral image (a Chinese character); and a gray screen.

Each group had different prime images. One group saw positive and negative images (e.g., a cute puppy and a

snarling puppy). The other group was shown smiling faces of black and white girls and boys. In both groups, after the

(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/desc.12788)

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gray screen appeared, the children were asked to indicate if the Chinese character they had seen was “nice looking”

or “not nice looking.”

In the second experiment, a different group of children completed the same procedure, but the prime images of black

and white boys and girls had neutral expressions rather than smiles. Participants were asked to rate how much they

liked each boy’s and girl’s face on a 6-point scale, with 1 being “really don’t like” and 6 being “really like.”

Results from the first experiment showed that children responded more positively to the Chinese character when it

followed white faces rather than black faces. They also responded more positively when it followed female faces as

opposed to male ones. The Chinese character had the least positive responses when it followed images of black

boys.

The second experiment found a similar impact of race on children’s feelings toward the neutral image, but there was

no difference in response based on the gender of the face in the images. Results from the children’s responses in

both experiments revealed that black boys were rated less positively than black girls, white girls, and white boys.

These findings show that children begin to show bias from an early age. Not only do they absorb the stereotypes they

see, but they also become “increasingly attuned to social category labels, social status, and the biases exhibited by

family members,” explain Perszyk and her colleagues.

ADDRESSING SOCIAL BIAS IN THE CLASSROOM In recognition of this research, it’s valuable for educators to be mindful and to implement strategies in their classrooms

that recognize young children’s social biases. Here are four relatively simple strategies they can start with.

1. Be aware that children—possibly at an earlier age than expected—may demonstrate bias and preference in

their interactions: Preschoolers are not immune to bias and may treat each other differently based on race, ethnicity,

or gender.

2. Determine how you want to address situations when bias is occurring: Rather than ignore situations in which

children demonstrate bias, educators can use these situations as inspirations for story selection, activities, and

projects. For instance, a child may project hierarchies of power

in their play by attempting to dominate materials or

controlling how play occurs. In response, an educator can work with them to resolve the issue, which could involve

listening to the children’s experiences and offering suggestions for sharing.

If children feel uncomfortable discussing a situation in which they felt rejected by their peers, educators can have them

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show what happened or how they’re feeling through the use of persona dolls . These

dolls have a name, a background, and other traits, and they can help children become more comfortable discussing

feelings—they sharing their experiences through the dolls.

Educators can invite parents or community members to the classroom to share their experiences in antiracist

activities, or use books as a way of introducing the history of racial and ethnic relations. Resources such as

EmbraceRace and Lee &

Low Books’ blog can used to generate dialogue with children.

3. Be mindful of the social environment you’re nurturing: Children use adults—including educators—as reference

points for how to react to others. Understanding one’s own preferences and biases

is helpful in determining whether social bias toward certain groups

is being perpetuated in classrooms. These biases and preferences may be influencing children’s interactions with

peers in their classroom as well as educators’ selection of the activities, projects, books, and images they present in

the classroom.

Educators can become more aware of their own biases by dialoguing with other educators and sharing their stories

related to their own cultural identity. These conversations can be kicked off by having educators share a family cultural

artifact or family ritual and explain the reasons for its significance.

4. Understand that addressing bias is a process: Even if an educator would like to immediately change the

circumstances in their classrooms, progress may be gradual. Just as it may take educators time to realize their biases

and work through them, young children will not change their patterns of thinking immediately.

Educators are in a unique position to potentially see children’s social biases unfold as they play and work with peers,

so they have a valuable opportunity to help children work through their biases and explore historical and everyday

experiences of people from a variety of cultural groups. These explorations may encourage the children to create a

welcoming environment in which all students can learn.

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