Effect of Test Language and Experimenter Race on Canadian Indian Children's Racial and Self-Identity

Abstract

Abstract The influence of test language and experimenter race on Indian children's racial preferences and self-identity were examined. Construct accessibility theory predicts that cues such as the experimenter's race and the test language used would prime race and race-related constructs, making them more accessible for processing race-related information. Both the escape and light-color bias hypotheses predict (for different reasons) that minority-group children should identify with and show a preference for white children. To test these ideas, Canadian Indian children living on an isolated Indian reserve were asked by a white or Indian experimenter who spoke English or Ojibwa to answer questions about their racial preferences and identity. Subjects responded by pointing to a picture of a white or Indian boy or girl. Results indicated that subjects misidentified which picture looked most like themselves, findings consistent with the escape and light-color bias hypotheses. Although subjects' racial prefer...