(CNN) — The discussion of race is never a black and white issue, and recent “AC360°” and CNN.com reports about young children’s attitudes on race became one of the most discussed stories on the site, eliciting more than 4,500 comments.
In the study, white children had an overwhelming bias toward white, and black children also had a bias toward white, but it was not nearly as strong as the bias shown by the white children.
Many users of the site thought parenting was the issue behind the results, some thought the kids were too naive and others thought the testing method was flawed.
Kids’ test answers on race brings mother to tears
Margaret Beale Spencer, a leading researcher in the field of child development, designed the pilot study for CNN’s “AC360.” Beale Spencer used a team of three psychologists to implement it: two testers to execute the study and a statistician to help analyze the results.
Her team tested 133 children from schools that met very specific economic and demographic requirements. In total, eight schools participated: four in the greater New York area and four in Georgia.
Spencer’s test aimed to re-create the landmark doll test from the 1940s. Those tests, conducted by psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark, were designed to measure how segregation affected African-American children.
Many people who read the story commented that racism is a learned behavior.
“I do believe that parents must take an active role [regardless of race] to inform their children that they are no better or no worse than anyone because of race,” Kejohn03 wrote. “These lessons were taught to me and when I have children I will do the same. Once this happens, then there will be less misconceptions and negative perceptions regarding race.”
Another reader thought many people missed the point of the results of the study. No one says the children are racist, Trumpet01 wrote.
“The problem here is that if parents do not talk to their kid about race and how to perceive people that are ‘different from them’, they would simply form their opinions based on whatever [right or wrong] they gather from society. To suggest that anyone is labeling these innocent kids to be racist is merely unfortunate,” the writer said.
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