Reexamination of Young Children's Racial Attitudes and Skin Tone Preferences

Abstract

This study continues the line of research on children's racial preferences that dates to Kenneth and Mamie Clark's classic research that revealed that Black children preferred White dolls and attributed more positive characteristics to White dolls than to Black dolls. In the current research, the authors examined Black and White preschool children's preferences for cartoon characters of different skin tones and whether their preferences shifted after listening to a moral story depicting a Black child as a hero. Findings are discussed in the context of how method of presentation may affect young children's responses and children's preferences in relation to race awareness and self-identification.