A Cross-Cultural Examination of Racial Identity and Racial Preference of Preschool Children in the West Indies

Abstract

The present study investigated the racial attitudes of preschool children in the West Indies. The Clarks' 1947 study found that both Black and White preschool children evaluate White dolls more positively than Black dolls. In this study, 302 children from four islands in the West Indies were presented with Black and White Cabbage Patch dolls. A Black female examiner instructed the children to choose a doll to play with from two dolls identical in every respect except skin coloring. The standard Clark doll questions and four more questions added by the researcher were also individually administered. In addition, 34 of the 302 children were administered a multiple-alternative method instead of the original forced-choice method only. It was found the majority (71.9%) of West Indian children when presented with Black dolls and White dolls chose to play with the White doll. The implication is that in spite of the fact that the West Indies is composed of a majority Black population, the impact of colonialism has left a debilitating effect on West Indians.