Interracial and intra-racial stereotypes and constructive memory in 7- and 9-year-old African-American children

Abstract

Across several measures, the interracial and intra-racial views of 7- and 9-year-old African-American children were examined. Overall, children showed more negative views toward other African-Americans, labeling pictures of African-American children with more negative adjectives than pictures of European-American children. Children displayed more negative views of darker skin tones than lighter skin tones, and African-American children who displayed more stereotyped views on the interracial measure, particularly negative views of other African-American children, also displayed more negative views about darker-complexioned children. Additionally, children's memory for stereotype-consistent and stereotype-inconsistent stories with African-American protagonists was assessed. Nine-year-olds showed a significant recall advantage for stereotype-consistent stories, and 7- and 9-year-old children who were found to be highly-stereotyped recalled more stereotype-consistent information than less-stereotyped children. Such negative views of oneself and others like oneself in African-American children may lead to difficulties in self-concept, and suggest the need to eliminate such beliefs in our African-American children.