Read Online NurtureShock by Po Bronson, Ashley Merryman - Free Book Online
Authors: Po Bronson, Ashley Merryman
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colors.
Within the past decade or so, developmental psychologists have begun a handful of longitudinal studies to determine exactly
when children develop bias—the general premise being that the earlier the bias manifests itself, the more likely it is driven
by developmental processes.
Dr. Phyllis Katz, then a professor at the University of Colorado, led one such study—following 100 black children and 100
white children for their first six years. She tested these children and their parents nine times during those six years, with
the first test at six months old.
How do researchers test a six-month-old? It’s actually a common test in child development research. They show babies photographs
of faces, measuring how long the child’s attention remains on the photographs. Looking at a photograph longer does not indicate
a preference for that photo, or for that face. Rather, looking longer means the child’s brain finds the face to be out of
the ordinary; she stares at it longer because her brain is trying to make sense of it. So faces that are familiar actually
get shorter visual attention. Children will stare significantly longer at photographs of faces that are a different race from
their parents. Race itself has no ethnic meaning, per se—but children’s brains are noticing skin color differences and trying
to understand their meaning.
When the kids turned three, Katz showed them photographs of other children and asked them to choose whom they’d like to have
as friends. Of the white children 86% picked children of their own race. When the kids were five and and six, Katz gave these
children a small deck of cards, with drawings of people on them. Katz told the children to sort the cards into two piles any
way they wanted. Only 16% of the kids used gender to split the piles. Another 16% used a variety of other factors, like the
age or the mood of the people depicted. But 68% of the kids used race to split the cards, without any prompting.
In reporting her findings, Katz concluded: “I think it is fair to say that at no point in the study did the children exhibit
the Rousseau-type of color-blindness that many adults expect.”
The point Katz emphasizes is that during this period of our children’s lives when we imagine it’s most important to
not
talk about race is the very developmental period when children’s minds are forming their first conclusions about race.
Several studies point to the possibility of developmental windows—stages when children’s attitudes might be most amenable
to change. During one experiment, teachers divided their students into groups of six kids, making sure each child was in a
racially diverse group. Twice a week, for eight weeks, the groups met. Each child in a group had to learn a piece of the lesson
and then turn around and teach it to the other five. The groups received a grade collectively. Then, the scholars watched
the kids on the playground, to see if it led to more interaction cross-race. Every time a child played with another child
at recess, it was noted—as was the race of the other child.
The researchers found this worked wonders on the first-grade children. Having been in the cross-race study groups led to significantly
more cross-race play. But it made no difference on the third-grade children. It’s possible that by third grade, when parents
usually recognize it’s safe to start talking a little about race, the developmental window has already closed.
The other deeply held assumption modern parents have is what Ashley and I have come to call the Diverse Environment Theory.
If you raise a child with a fair amount of exposure to people of other races and cultures, the environment becomes the message.
You don’t have to talk about race—in fact, it’s better to
not
talk about race. Just expose the child to diverse environments and he’ll think it’s entirely normal.
I know this mindset, because it perfectly
Within the past decade or so, developmental psychologists have begun a handful of longitudinal studies to determine exactly
when children develop bias—the general premise being that the earlier the bias manifests itself, the more likely it is driven
by developmental processes.
Dr. Phyllis Katz, then a professor at the University of Colorado, led one such study—following 100 black children and 100
white children for their first six years. She tested these children and their parents nine times during those six years, with
the first test at six months old.
How do researchers test a six-month-old? It’s actually a common test in child development research. They show babies photographs
of faces, measuring how long the child’s attention remains on the photographs. Looking at a photograph longer does not indicate
a preference for that photo, or for that face. Rather, looking longer means the child’s brain finds the face to be out of
the ordinary; she stares at it longer because her brain is trying to make sense of it. So faces that are familiar actually
get shorter visual attention. Children will stare significantly longer at photographs of faces that are a different race from
their parents. Race itself has no ethnic meaning, per se—but children’s brains are noticing skin color differences and trying
to understand their meaning.
When the kids turned three, Katz showed them photographs of other children and asked them to choose whom they’d like to have
as friends. Of the white children 86% picked children of their own race. When the kids were five and and six, Katz gave these
children a small deck of cards, with drawings of people on them. Katz told the children to sort the cards into two piles any
way they wanted. Only 16% of the kids used gender to split the piles. Another 16% used a variety of other factors, like the
age or the mood of the people depicted. But 68% of the kids used race to split the cards, without any prompting.
In reporting her findings, Katz concluded: “I think it is fair to say that at no point in the study did the children exhibit
the Rousseau-type of color-blindness that many adults expect.”
The point Katz emphasizes is that during this period of our children’s lives when we imagine it’s most important to
not
talk about race is the very developmental period when children’s minds are forming their first conclusions about race.
Several studies point to the possibility of developmental windows—stages when children’s attitudes might be most amenable
to change. During one experiment, teachers divided their students into groups of six kids, making sure each child was in a
racially diverse group. Twice a week, for eight weeks, the groups met. Each child in a group had to learn a piece of the lesson
and then turn around and teach it to the other five. The groups received a grade collectively. Then, the scholars watched
the kids on the playground, to see if it led to more interaction cross-race. Every time a child played with another child
at recess, it was noted—as was the race of the other child.
The researchers found this worked wonders on the first-grade children. Having been in the cross-race study groups led to significantly
more cross-race play. But it made no difference on the third-grade children. It’s possible that by third grade, when parents
usually recognize it’s safe to start talking a little about race, the developmental window has already closed.
The other deeply held assumption modern parents have is what Ashley and I have come to call the Diverse Environment Theory.
If you raise a child with a fair amount of exposure to people of other races and cultures, the environment becomes the message.
You don’t have to talk about race—in fact, it’s better to
not
talk about race. Just expose the child to diverse environments and he’ll think it’s entirely normal.
I know this mindset, because it perfectly
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