Sources of implicit and explicit intergroup race bias among African-American children and young adults

Abstract

Implicit intergroup bias emerges early in development, are typically pro-ingroup, and remain stable across the lifespan. Such findings have been interpreted in terms of an automatic ingroup bias similar to what is observed with minimal groups paradigms. These studies are typically conducted with groups of high cultural standing (e.g., Caucasians in North America and Europe). Research conducted among culturally lower status groups (e.g., African-Americans, Latino-Americans) reveals a notable absence of an implicit ingroup bias. Understanding the environmental factors that contribute to the absence of an implicit ingroup bias among people from culturally lower status groups is critical for advancing theories of implicit intergroup cognition. The present study aimed to elucidate the factors that shape racial group bias among African-American children and young adults by examining their relationship with age, school composition (predominantly Black schools or racially mixed schools), parental racial attitudes and socialization messages among African-American children (N = 86) and young adults (N = 130). Age, school-type and parents’ racial socialization messages were all found to be related to the strength of pro-Black (ingroup) bias. We also found that relationships between implicit and explicit bias and frequency of parents' racial socialization messages depended on the type of school participants attended. Our results highlight the importance of considering environmental factors in shaping the magnitude and direction of implicit and explicit race bias among African-Americans rather than treating them as a monolithic group.

Factors Affecting the Perception of Disability: A Developmental Perspective

“…Importantly, previous research reported not only positive, but also non-significant or even negative effects of exposure (Verkuyten and Kinket, 2000;Nowicki and Sandieson, 2002;Smith-D'Arezzo and Moore-Thomas, 2010;Kurtz-Costes et al, 2011;Vittrup and Holden, 2011;Pahlke et al, 2012;Vezzali et al, 2012;Huckstadt and Shutts, 2014;Aboud et al, 2015;Gibson et al, 2017;Ersan et al, 2020). Placement of children with disabilities in a general classroom does not automatically produce peer acceptance and social inclusion (Kluwin and Gonsher, 1994;McEvoy and Odom, 1996).…”

Childhood Experiences and Intergroup Biases among Children

“…Few mothers reported explicitly speaking to their children about race or interracial interactions in early childhood; moreover, the frequency of such conversations was unrelated to children's racial biases in the one study investigating this relation in a White U.S. sample (Pahlke, Bigler, & Suizzo, ). Studies focused on the intergroup messages provided by Black U.S. parents indicate that education on issues of civil rights, Black history, and racial discrimination are associated with decreased explicit pro‐White bias (Gibson, Rochat, Tone, & Baron, ; Spencer, ) . However, in the one study to examine implicit biases, these types of intergroup messages were associated with increased implicit pro‐White bias among Black children, but only among those attending racially homogeneous schools (Gibson et al., ).…”

“…Studies focused on the intergroup messages provided by Black U.S. parents indicate that education on issues of civil rights, Black history, and racial discrimination are associated with decreased explicit pro‐White bias (Gibson, Rochat, Tone, & Baron, ; Spencer, ) . However, in the one study to examine implicit biases, these types of intergroup messages were associated with increased implicit pro‐White bias among Black children, but only among those attending racially homogeneous schools (Gibson et al., ).…”

“…Some studies indicated that intergroup contact was associated with reduced intergroup bias (Brown, Eller, Leeds, & Stace, ; Cameron, Rutland, Hossain, & Petley, ; Dutton, Singer, & Devlin, ; Knifsend & Juvonen, ; Koslin, Amarel, & Ames, ; McGlothlin & Killen, ; Rutland, Cameron, Bennett, & Ferrell, ; Sirlopú et al., ; Turner, Hewstone, & Voci, ; Wright & Tropp, ; Žeželj, Jakšić, & Jošić, ). In contrast, a couple indicated that intergroup contact was associated with increased intergroup bias (Kurtz‐Costes, Defreitas, Halle, & Kinlaw, ; Vezzali, Giovannini, et al, ), and still others indicated that intergroup contact and intergroup bias were unrelated (Aboud, Friedmann, & Smith, ; Gibson et al., ; Graffi & Minnes, ; Huckstadt & Shutts, ; Koslin et al., ; Kurtz‐Costes et al., ; Pahlke et al., ; Verkuyten & Kinket, ; Vittrup & Holden, ). The inconsistencies in these findings are likely due to unmeasured variation in factors such as the quality of these contact experiences and whether they facilitated cooperation or competition.…”

Positive Exemplar Exposure: A Method for Early Implicit Racial Bias Change

“…There is also recent evidence from North America indicating that positive cultural messaging can increase ingroup racial positivity for members of culturally marginalized racial groups. For example, one recent study conducted in the United States found that Black young adults who attend Historically Black Colleges, where Black racial identity is celebrated and positively reinforced, have stronger levels of implicit pro-Black/anti-White racial bias on an IAT than those who do not attend these colleges (Gibson, Rochat, Tone, & Baron, 2017).…”