The Doll Race Experiment: Responses of Children to Racial Difference [warning- may be confronting]

[justbanANNAz]

WARNING: The videos in this myTake will be disturbing and possibly offensive to people who STRONGLY believe in racial equality, as it was for me, but I decided to post them to raise awareness on just how infected our young generations are in terms of their mindsets on race. I just needed to put that out there before anyone reads on.

. . .

I've been studying issues of gender and race since my first year of uni, so it's been 3 years now. I'd like to believe that by this stage I'm equipped with enough knowledge to venture into this topic.

This semester, I've been doing a unit called Race In Literature. In one of our classes, we discussed how issues of race permeate all aspects of life, even children's culture. Toys, as you all know, are a huge part of that.

Here I'm going to zoom in on dolls and the ideals children attach to them.

Dolls are created in huge diversity today. All kinds of skin colours, ages, career types, hair colours, clothing, heights, etc.

However, the way children respond to dolls is very much associated with their own preconceived notions of race that they begin to form from this young age. Children have more agency in their thoughts now than adults care to realise.

The first Doll Test was conducted in the 1940's by psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark. The aim was "to study the psychological effects of segregation on African-American children".

Source: https://www.naacpldf.org/brown-at-60-the-doll-test

The findings of this test were shocking.

A majority of the children preferred the white doll and assigned positive characteristics to it. The Clarks concluded that “prejudice, discrimination, and segregation” created a feeling of inferiority among African-American children and damaged their self-esteem.

Refer to the source above if you wish to look into it further.

Now, fast forwarding to just a few years ago...

A group of psychologists has conducted The Doll Test again, this time with dark and light children, asking them questions and instructing the child to point to the doll or picture they believe corresponds best.

Questions included:

• which one is the black/white doll?


• which child is the smart/dumb child?


• which child is the nice/mean child?


• which child is the good/bad child?


• which doll is the pretty/ugly doll?


• which doll looks like you?


• which doll do you like to play with?


• why is that the pretty/ugly/bad/good/mean/nice child or doll?


• Show me what skin colour you want.

The responses are quite confronting and saddening, to me anyway. I was really upset to see just how much racial differences impact the minds of children.

The Doll Test

Parents' Reactions to The Doll Test

After seeing these clips in class, you can imagine that the classroom was filled with frustration.

I just wanted to show you these to convey just how real racism is. We tend to concentrate on racism only among adults, but it is just as real among children as well, and it may not even be overtly displayed. The simple choice of which toy they interact with is psychologically influenced by their own perceptions of the world.

---

One last thing to anyone who would like to be a parent someday. Your actions and attitudes will play an enormous role in your child's behaviour. This kind of mindset just has to stop. What bothers me most is that there are ALWAYS people in the world who can't get enough of pessimism. They love to deny possibilities. I'm not saying racism will cease to exist if we all try. Racism will always exist because human nature recognises difference.

You can't get rid of racism globally, but you can ALWAYS tame it in your own life and the lives of your children.

I forgot who said this [was in a lecture ages ago] but it was along the lines of, racism will only cease to exist when it is no longer psychologically useful.

And I think that's so true. I don't dispute it, but don't you think it's better to work towards DECREASING racism than having it stay at the same level, or poisoning our future generations even more?

---

~j.B

[ResonantGuy]

Society & parenting with fix mindset of "White skin = better" & bombarding of skin fairness creams. I see women around in my town and more than half of them smell like chemicals. I don't know how much or how many creams they use.
We still have arranged marriage system. If either of girl or guy doesn't have almost same skin-tone then darker one is extremely likely to be rejected. No matter how good his/her qualities are (except money of course!).
Parents use talcum power to make their kids look 'whiter'. Purpose of talcum powder has changed from keeping skin moisture-free, rash-free to look white.

Kids see this stuff and follow it for their entire lives. Parents just need to get rid of their fair-skin obsession, that can protect them from views of society and misleading advertisements.

[justbanANNAz]

exactly :( that's very sad to hear.
my goodness... this is in 2015... terrible. makes me angry.

i completely agree and i really love this input. it's an eye opener. thank u.

[CHARismatic110]

I remember seeing this on Facebook. I found it disturbing then and I do now. It's sad how screwed up society is. And reading through these comments just proves that. People would rather nitpick this Take and twist your words instead of actually trying to see the point.

[justbanANNAz]

it's pretty disgusting.
yeah i know, people like to ditch the entire point of the damn take and go onto describing something completely useless.

[TheDevilInside]

You should come to asia, girl. People here don't even pretend that racism doesn't exist anymore. People say racist things out loud and it is a widely accepted thing. In fact, i'm not even sure people here know the word "racism" or "racist" at all, which tells me they See nothing wrong in being a racist and this have no need to Highlight it or even knowing the word for it and what it means.

Here in Thailand, there are even Hierarchies to their racism. Whites are on top of the preferred race ladder, then the light skinned Asians. Then darker Skinner Asians, which are considered less aesthetic, then south Asians, and finally, blacks.

I'm a teacher's assistant at an English learning center. My Position was also a result of racism. Parents want their kids to be taught by a white teacher. So as an Asian, I can only be the assistant and earn 1/3 of what the white teachers earn per hour. Even though I speak English with an American accent and am not less equipped at teaching young kids English than the white teachers are.

On Saturday I was assisting an Irish girl and the lesson was about hands, face, and bathroom stuff. The students were supposed to color "hands". And the irisch girl noticed how the kids here always picked the cream color for hands. Our other kid colored her hands pic with all sorts of colors. It reminded me how i used to color body parts with that cream color as well. A white Person's skin color.

[justbanANNAz]

shit... r u serious? that's actually SO sad :(

wow... just goes to show how different cultures approach things. oh my god ur race decided ur job? WHY IS THIS STILL HAPPENING? 😠😠😠

Very interesting. =/ one can only hope that our generations can slowly fix up this mess =/

[imnotcrearive]

First of all it's appalling that after 3 years of studying this you're using the word 'racist' to refer to a child's preference of a white doll over a dark one. So are you saying all these black kids are racist to their own kind? I'd encourage you to revisit what being racist actually means and really think it through before using the word. You really think someone of a certain race can be racist to their own race?

Secondly, this test in flawed in a million ways. It doesn't show the exact test for each child, not to mention each one of those children's choice has a lot to do with their upbringing. The reason most those children are choosing the black doll to the white one is because the way your brain functions. That's why you're afraid of the dark and not of the light. That's why most demons and evil things in books are shown as dark. So it's only natural that when you see an inanimate object like a doll you'd prefer the one that looks lighter. What's fucked is how those administering the test ask the child "Which one looks more like you?". Now you've instilled in that child's brain that he/she is not good enough because he's black and that being white is superior. I can almost guarantee that the child did not make that correlation between the dolls and people until the tester forced him/her into making it.

So yeah to end off you're right. Racism is alive and more than likely will exist for years to come. But it's not from the way a human naturally develops but the social norms places on them. And please... if you're gonna do a test to see how a child's brain reacts to a certain bias, do it from a neurological standpoint. Not one of a psychologist, sociologist, anthropologist and all other professions that make conclusions based on behavioral patterns.

[justbanANNAz]

firstly, i did not mention that point ONCE. u must have COMPLETELY misinterpreted my take. I'm not an idiot. like how stupid of u to think that id write this take and imply that. where the fuck is your logic at.

and obviously the test is flawed, good morning.

i can take it from any viewpoint i wish, because they all exist. dont need your negativity round here.

[imnotcrearive]

Perhaps you should retry to understand the points you're making. "I just wanted to show you these to convey just how real racism is. We tend to concentrate on racism only among adults, but it is just as real among children as well"

And yes you are again right. You can in fact take it from any viewpoint you wish, I'm just pointing out its an ignorant point of view and why. And you're dealing with a sensitive matter where you don't have the commodity of ignorance if you actually want to make a difference. But yeah you can just chose to take what I said as negative and not change the way you see things at all. Let me guess... Sociology major?

[justbanANNAz]

i should try to understand the points I'm making? that was hilarious.

-.- omg. and no my major isn't sociology.

[imnotcrearive]

What can I say, I'm a pretty funny guy. But really, you should learn to take criticism.

[justbanANNAz]

thank u sensei.

[imnotcrearive]

Thank you sensei sir*, please and thank you.

[justbanANNAz]

😴😴😴

[Gem45]

First of all, I didn't find the choices of the children surprising. Something I learned in Life Span class is that children are smart individuals and even as babies can pick up on things that you would not think they'd notice. Like depression in a mother for example.

These children are learning this from their environment, social media, listening to other adults talking. Children take in this information and absorb it like a sponge. However, once they are older they will be more intelligent enough to realize that race is not associated bad or good.

Really nice take, can we get more people to write good stuff like this? Lol.

[justbanANNAz]

me neither unfortunately, but it was still disturbing to see.
oh 100%. adults underestimate them big time.

at that age yes they do very quickly absorb information and that can be very useful or dangerous. i guess ur right, it's hard to say whether they will stick with that mindset or change it as they grow.

haha well thank you, i try =]

[justbanANNAz]

by the way i saw ur comments. ty for ur support. see the people i gotta deal with? lol!

[Gem45]

Yes lol

[Imafreespirit]

wow, this is so sad. Society is so messed up...
And what you said is so true, people don't wanna try to solve this just because they think it will always be there, same with poverty, it really annoys me, I work for an organisation trying to do something about this and there's always people that come and say is not worth fighting for it because it will always be there, I can't believe how far humans can go, selfishness is just so present in our world. And yes, it might not be possible to change some things completely, but trying to make a difference is what matters

Thanks for posting this! :)

[justbanANNAz]

isn't it? =/

yeah oh my gosh, exactly. wow r u? that's amazing! thank u for what ur doing. i would seriously get SO annoyed if people said that to me while I'm trying to make a difference but hey, i think it's those people that should keep u going :) yeah i just dunno how humanity stooped so low...

thanks for reading! x

[Imafreespirit]

Yesss I get so pissed, but yeah! They keep me on track, I wanna prove them that fighting for it is worth it :)

[lumos]

This is so, so sad. Really. And it's even more sad when you look at the faces of the black kids when they point to the doll that looks the most like them. It's like they just realize "... wait... I just called that doll the ugliest and dumbest, and it's the one I relate to the most". Shit, man. Honestly, representation is EVERYTHING. If kids with darker skin tones had more positive role models that look like them (Disney/Dreamworks movies, comics, TV shows, even commercials) then maybe they wouldn't prefer the lighter skinned dolls and speak so negatively of the darker skinned ones. I feel like their preferences are highly influenced by what they see in the media, which is as of right now still dominated by white people. They don't even have to be taught to be racist by their parents! It's all about what they see and hear on TV and in comics/magazines. More positive role models to represent these kids = a more positive view on themselves.

[justbanANNAz]

seriously is. yeah exactly. and the one that got me most was this one dark girl who was asked "which one are you most like?"
she looked at the white doll for a bit and then hesitantly pointed to the dark doll :(

i totally agree. i've been studying this, and it's so stuffed up because children's culture [movies, games, comics, toys, etc] is created by adults, so that ultimately shapes the way kids are seeing the world. yep and also because more parents are working now, kids aren't with their parents as much so they end up spending time with the media. as u said, they unfortunately absorb it all and decide "so this is the way the world works" ... fxcking messed up.

[NatashaJ]

That's why I cut TV out of my life its full of bull trying to make you think their way. Social media I easily block too youtube is turning into TV if you think about it.

[thewanderingme]

I'm actually really surprised. I had expected each child to favorably choose whichever doll had the closest skin tone to their own.

personally, I don't think it's their parents/family that causes these views, I think child programming on nickelodeon, cartoon network, disney, etc put stereotypes into kids heads. if you REALLY Pat attention, you'll notice certain characters behave certain ways based on their race, gender, weight, and level of "coolness" and desirability. beyond race issues, these shows also tell us from an early age who to consider attractive and not, who's weird and encourage bullying.

[justbanANNAz]

i was more confronted than surprised, but yeah definitely, u would think so wouldn't u? =/

yep i agree. i think parents have an influence, but definitely not as much as the media. that's true, everything has some kind of story or message behind it that is subconsciously absorbed.

this is why we need to be incredibly careful with what we give ourselves and our children access to, if we can even control it =/

[BelleGirl21]

I agree. I don't think most parents are teaching this negative thought process. It stems from whatever environment and exposure the kids have.

[SonicDare]

It is innate in kids. Why are you calling it an infection? Each race starts out preferring its own kind. It is only through learning tolerance and ignoring bad examples (that is, ignoring that one bad apple that some people let poison their view on all people of a specific race) that we can be tolerant. Each person is entitled to have preferences even if considered biased. My girlfriend is Asian, because I (who started out preferring White, my race), has over the years changed my ideals of beauty so that Asians are seen 'by me' as more desirable. This does not make me prejudiced, it makes me a free person. IF you think this is bad, you are the same as a nazi, requiring all to believe in what you believe and to HAVE to share your ethical-moral compass. We are all free to piss off everyone else by our sincere tastes.

[justbanANNAz]

my god, some of u gag people really have the most bizarre way of turning shit around. the take is not hard to comprehend. if that's ur perception of everything i said, I'm not even gonna bother with u.

[SonicDare]

Yet I got +10 so far. Who do people think is right?

[justbanANNAz]

😂😂😂

[SonicDare]

OK I'd like to share something with you: recently a HS in SF did not release the results for class officer elections (Student Body President, etc.) because the results were not "diverse" enough. , i. e. too many Whites won, democracy be damned, we are Soviet Union telling you what color the sky should be. Do you not see that your kind of thinking is causing the nazification of America? Bye.

[Gem45]

Did you watch the full videos? Or just read the parts that pissed you of?

[AllThatSweetJazz]

Firstly, the test methodology is a bit fucked. They are setting up to get the kid to say what they want.

Secondly, a certain degree of racial bias is normal. It's full blown racism that's an issue.

Even infants show racial preferences, which tells me it's wired into us and we're all just going to have to accept that and adapt. So it wouldn't be surprising to me that a young kid acting more on feelings than a fully formed conscious rationale would show racial bias, even if the test wasn't so bad.

As a very basic and instinctual thing, I think we can see racial bias surface again in one of our most fundamental urges: Sex. That skin colour preference you have in a sex partner, that's called racial bias. Many people have racial bias, but that doesn't mean they discriminate when it really counts, if they did that would be racist.

Maybe we're all a little racist and we're socialized to think more rationally about skin colour over time.

[justbanANNAz]

thanks for the input.

[BelleGirl21]

I think you bring up a lot of good points

[FakeName123]

That was my first thought as well. The test methodology is pretty much aiming charing right into confirmation bias with 300 mph. Definitely not a well thoughtout study.

Also there are many reasons for why such racial preferences can exist. Maybe it is simply due to living in a majorly white culture. I wonder what happened if they had done the same experiment in a majorly black culture.

[dartmaul15]

been known for a long time.

Kids learn from what adults do. It's just logical (sadly) that kids will pickk up on the notions of society, and the opinions of their elders.

[justbanANNAz]

indeed.

[dartmaul15]

hence why i stand by my claim that racism is taught, not human instinct.

[justbanANNAz]

yeah i've never believed in that crap tbh.

[Frost_Byt3]

Man this is sad.

But it makes me wonder if it is completely social influence, or if we are just biologically programmed to prefer lighter skin...

[justbanANNAz]

indeed :(

i know that racism is a social construct, so i think it's the former, but u know, it's a good question to ask.

[Jager66]

It's not purely a social construct though.. sort of.. it's a survival instinct, our family vs. theirs, our tribe vs. theirs, our country vs. theirs, our religion vs. theirs, our race vs. theirs. etc... Outsiders have always been dangerous to the group, wars for food over a long winter or a new culture moving into an area and wiping out the natives, like what happened to the neanderthals for example, or they Myans etc...

[Frost_Byt3]

@Jager66 That makes sense.

[tenchu11]

I'm white hispanic and all my brown Mexican American friends said I was lucky and privileged because every treats me nice. I can go out drinking and not pay until I'm about to leave they say they have to pay before they get served. Thought they were full of shit guess my light skin makes me some how come off as "nice".

[zombiebabe]

saw that before... that's really sad to see how society is messed up -_-'

[justbanANNAz]

yeah it's terrible... =/

[Zorax]

Very educational Take, modern society really sucks...

[justbanANNAz]

thank u.
for sure man, i can't stand living in this generation.

[Zorax]

You're welcome.
Same here ;)

[DodgersGM]

It's amazing how much we can learn about ourselves by studying our children. :/

To be honest I've seen the video before, but it still carries a lot of weight. It's just sad that these little sponges are absorbing the BS they're being fed. :(

[justbanANNAz]

i know far out! thank you... then u have another guy who says "why dont u let kids be".

yeah the video is a popular one, but it raises so much awareness. i couldn't have said it better. 😔

[LittleSally]

Makes sense... Since dolls were once porcelain - and exclusively white...
Maybe kids just like tradition. xD

[justbanANNAz]

indeed.
haha well I'm all for tradition but i certainly hope not in this case!

thanks for taking a look at it!

[LittleSally]

No problem =)
You have really interesting MyTakes. ^-^

[justbanANNAz]

i appreciate it :) xx

[abundantlyrich]

They need to make more dolls of other 'races' then it wouldn't look like they are just used to seeing white dolls only.

[justbanANNAz]

i think they have done so, but the experiment was probably just narrowed down to those 2.

[BelleGirl21]

I've never had a problem finding Asian looking dolls for my daughter.

[thomasjjeffy]

Why am I not surprised...
Yeah, one thing I was wondering, do you think that these children already had the possibility to be influenced by the media?

[thomasjjeffy]

can't forget the moment when my grandmother's uncle, who was a catholic priest, aged 90-something he said that black people are bad because they are descendants of Cain

[Jackblue]

I don't see why this is a problem little children are not called criminals when they have misconceptions about whether it is ok to steal or not. On the other hand we get titles "like is your baby racist." You sociologists are so confrontational though. Trying to annoy others really makes you feel good. You are just like teenagers who these days love to talk about how evil colombus was, why because it gives them an opportunity to criticize society and make themselves feel superior.

[justbanANNAz]

i have NO idea what u just said.

[Jackblue]

So you are going to play dumb, of course you don't need to play at it.

[justbanANNAz]

ur either implying I'm more intelligent than u, or as dumb as u.

[Gem45]

Sociologists don't want to 'annoy' others, they went to give others information. If you find this confusing or incomprehensible then instead of criticizing her for pointing out a real issue, then either do your own research or ask OP questions.

[TimTim56]

I think you missed the point of the video. It's that we don't teach our children enough about equality and put a lot of bias on superficial things like looks. Children are influenced to be racist, sexist, homophobic, etc from a very young age and they catch on a lot quicker and more easily than you'd think.

[StickStickity13]

Humans are biologically designed to be "discriminatory". That being said it's not an excuse to be discriminatory.

[justbanANNAz]

i dont dispute that.

[jaydogs1990]

Hhmm whats next studies on racist dogs? Why dont you let kids be. Next thing you know at PTA meetings we will be discussing how racially prejudice our kids are instead of their academic progress. How about instead of Math, English and science we teach instead about White Privilege and entitlement.

[justbanANNAz]

letting kids be results in some of the problems that happen today. if u are okay with racism, then whatever. if u think academia is more important than life skills, ok. and hum that's why we have a little subject called HISTORY in addition to those 3.
such a weak point to make...

[DodgersGM]

Math, English, and science are more important than learning how to treat other people? Are you joking?

[jaydogs1990]

Whatever dude its just another deadend "research" program to keep the lights on so theses researchers dont have to get a real job.

[TheDevilInside]

And what exactly is a "real job"? Do you have one?

[jaydogs1990]

Im an engineer.

[MysteriousFlower]

@jaydogs1990 but if children are being discriminated because of race, that can effect their academia. It's good to raise awareness in all aspects.