By 5 years old, most children from culturally dominant groups will hold some form of racial or ethnic bias.[1][2][3] Yes, even your child.[4] Racial and ethnic biases are ubiquitous throughout history and across cultures. No behavioural intervention has yet reduced them in a long-term, generalisable way. However, it would be problematic to conclude that racism is innate, for three reasons.
Raabe, T., & Beelmann, A. (2011). Development of ethnic, racial, and national prejudice in childhood and adolescence: A multinational meta‐analysis of age differences. Child development, 82, 1715–1737. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01668.x
Roberts, S. O., & Rizzo, M. T. (2021). The psychology of American racism. American psychologist, 76, 475–487. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000642
Umaña-Taylor, A. J. (2016). A post-racial society in which ethnic-racial discrimination still exists and has significant consequences for youths’ adjustment. Current directions in psychological science, 25, 111–118. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721415627858
Scott, K. E., Shutts, K., & Devine, P. G. (2020). Parents’ expectations for and reactions to children’s racial biases. Child development, 91(3), 769–783. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13231
First, race is a social – not biological or genetic – construct.[5][6] Second, children vary widely in when and to what extent they develop racial biases.[7] And third, viewing racial biases as inevitable removes accountability from the adults in children’s lives for ensuring they develop anti-racist worldviews.[8][9][10][11]
Roberts, D. (2011). Fatal invention: How science, politics, and big business re-create race in the twenty-first century. New Press/ ORIM.
Smedley, A., & Smedley, B. D. (2005). Race as biology is fiction, racism as a social problem is real: Anthropological and historical perspectives on the social construction of race. American psychologist, 60, 16–26. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.1.16
Rizzo, M. T., Green, E. R., Dunham, Y., Bruneau, E., & Rhodes, M. (2021). Beliefs about social norms and racial inequalities predict variation in the early development of racial bias. Developmental science, 25(2), e13170. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13170
Bigler, R. S., Pahlke, E., Williams, A. D., & Vittrup, B. (2022). White parents’ socialization of racial attitudes: A commentary on Scott et al. (2020). Perspectives on psychological science, 17, 901–910. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916211029947
Eberhardt, J. L. (2019). Biased: Uncovering the hidden prejudice that shapes what we see, think, and do. Viking.
Kendi, I. X. (2019). How to be an antiracist. One World.
Salter, P. S., Adams, G., & Perez, M. J. (2018). Racism in the structure of everyday worlds: A cultural-psychological perspective. Current directions in psychological science, 27, 150–155. https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214177242
How, then, do racial biases develop? And what can we do to disrupt this process and promote anti-racist worldviews?
How do racial biases emerge?
Children learn by observing patterns in the world and forming beliefs about why those patterns exist. Racial and ethnic segregation and inequality are pervasive throughout societies around the globe, and everyday life provides ample opportunities for children to observe how interpersonal and structural racism work.[12][13][14]
Devakumar, D., Shannon, G., Bhopal, S. S., & Abubakar, I. (2020). Racism and discrimination in COVID-19 responses. The Lancet. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30792-3
Roberts, S. O., & Rizzo, M. T. (2021). The psychology of American racism. American psychologist, 76, 475–487. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000642
Salter, P. S., Adams, G., & Perez, M. J. (2018). Racism in the structure of everyday worlds: A cultural-psychological perspective. Current directions in psychological science, 27, 150–155. https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214177242
Various experiences – such as walking to school with a parent, a playdate at a friend’s home, or visiting a local park – will tell the child a lot about the racial segregation, inequality, and prejudices in their neighbourhoods. For example, how do teachers treat students from different racial backgrounds?[15] Who lives in higher- and lower-income neighbourhoods?[16] Who plays with whom in the playground?[17] How does mum respond when a person of a different race walks by?[18]
Brey, E., & Pauker, K. (2019). Teachers’ nonverbal behaviors influence children’s stereotypic beliefs. Journal of experimental child psychology, 188, 104671. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104671
Olson, K. R., Shutts, K., Kinzler, K. D., & Weisman, K. G. (2012). Children associate racial groups with wealth: Evidence from South Africa. Child development, 83(6), 1884–1899. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01819.x
Killen, M., Elenbaas, L., Rizzo, M. T., & Rutland, A. (2017). The role of group processes in social exclusion and resource allocation decisions. In A. Rutland, D. Nesdale, & C. Spears Brown (Eds.). Handbook of group processes. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118773123.ch5
Richeson, J. A., & Shelton, J. N. (2005). Thin slices of racial bias. Journal of nonverbal behavior, 29, 75–86. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10919-004-0890-2
Through experiences like these, children naturally pick up on patterns of racial segregation, inequality and prejudice, and do so whether parents realise it or not. By as young as 4–5 years old, 68% of US children expect their friends to prefer playing with same-race peers and 63% associate White people with wealth and Black people with poverty. Similar percentages are documented cross-culturally, and they increase with age.[19][20][21]
Olson, K. R., Shutts, K., Kinzler, K. D., & Weisman, K. G. (2012). Children associate racial groups with wealth: Evidence from South Africa. Child development, 83(6), 1884–1899. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01819.x
Rizzo, M. T., Green, E. R., Dunham, Y., Bruneau, E., & Rhodes, M. (2021). Beliefs about social norms and racial inequalities predict variation in the early development of racial bias. Developmental science, 25(2), e13170. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13170
Shutts, K. (2015). Young children’s preferences: Gender, race, and social status. Child development perspectives, 9, 262–266. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12154
Awareness of racial segregation and inequality is not necessarily problematic – being aware of racism is the first step in fighting against it – but harmful biases can emerge when children form beliefs to explain why these things exist. Around 70% of 4- to 5-year-old children think their parents would prefer they played with a same-race peer and 48% assume that racial inequalities are caused by internal differences between racial groups. Children who hold beliefs like these are known to develop more racial biases over time.[22]
Rizzo, M. T., Green, E. R., Dunham, Y., Bruneau, E., & Rhodes, M. (2021). Beliefs about social norms and racial inequalities predict variation in the early development of racial bias. Developmental science, 25(2), e13170. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13170
These early-emerging attitudes and beliefs have important implications for children’s behaviours, including decisions about who they befriend, who takes leadership positions, and how to allocate resources.[23][24][25] Children from marginalised groups experience increased stress, decreased wellbeing and sense of belonging, and restricted educational and extracurricular opportunities because of their peers’ biased behaviours.[26][27]
Elenbaas, L., Rizzo, M. T., Cooley, S., & Killen, M. (2016). Rectifying social inequalities in a resource allocation task. Cognition, 155, 176–187. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2016.07.002
Shutts, K. (2015). Young children’s preferences: Gender, race, and social status. Child development perspectives, 9, 262–266. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12154
Williams, A. D., Bigler, R. S., & Ramirez, M. C. (2021). Latinx children’s race- and ethnicityrelated identities, beliefs, and preferences. Group processes & intergroup relations. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684302211050553
Sellers, R. M., Copeland-Linder, N., Martin, P. P., & Lewis, R. L. (2006). Racial identity matters: The relationship between racial discrimination and psychological functioning in African American adolescents. Journal of research on adolescence, 16(2), 187–216. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2006.00128.x
Umaña-Taylor, A. J. (2016). A post-racial society in which ethnic-racial discrimination still exists and has significant consequences for youths’ adjustment. Current directions in psychological science, 25, 111–118. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721415627858
To disrupt the cycle of racial segregation and inequality, interventions need to address how children make sense of the interpersonal and structural racism they see in the world around them and emphasise them as unjust and changeable systems that should be fought against.
How to promote anti-racist worldviews?
More research is needed to identify robust and generalisable guidelines on how to promote anti-racist worldviews during early childhood, especially among dominant- or majority-group children, who are more likely to develop racial biases.[28][29] We do, however, have three suggestions for caregivers.
Dunham, Y., Stepanova, E. V., Dotsch, R., & Todorov, A. (2015). The development of race-based perceptual categorization: Skin color dominates early category judgments. Developmental science, 18, 469–483. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12228
Raabe, T., & Beelmann, A. (2011). Development of ethnic, racial, and national prejudice in childhood and adolescence: A multinational meta‐analysis of age differences. Child development, 82, 1715–1737. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01668.x
1 Take active steps to reduce racism in children’s worlds
Children develop racial attitudes through their observations of the world around them. By taking active steps to redress the racial inequality, segregation and prejudice that exist in children’s worlds, caregivers can help children see how the world ought to be and serve as a role model for anti-racist change.
2 Monitor your own actions and the actions of people around you.
Children draw conclusions from observing how adults in their life behave towards others[30][31][32] – for example, a parent tensing up when a Black man walks by, or a shopkeeper frowning at a Spanish- speaking person in a store.[33]
Pahlke, E., Bigler, R. S., & Suizzo, M. (2012). Relations between colorblind socialization and children’s racial bias: Evidence from European American mothers and their preschool children. Child development, 83(4), 1164–1179. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.14678624.2012.01770.x
Perry, S. P., Skinner-Dorkenoo, A. L., Abaied, J. L., & Waters, S. F. (2022). Applying the evidence we have: Support for having race conversations in White U.S. families. Perspectives on psychological science, 17, 895–900. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916211029950
Xiao, S. X., Spinrad, T. L., Xu, J., Eisenberg, N., Laible, D. J., Carlo, G., Gal-Szabo, D. E., Berger, R. H., & Xu, X. (2022). Parents’ valuing diversity and White children’s prosociality toward White and Black peers. Journal of applied developmental psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2022.101459
Brey, E., & Pauker, K. (2019). Teachers’ nonverbal behaviors influence children’s stereotypic beliefs. Journal of experimental child psychology, 188, 104671. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104671
Caregivers need to reflect carefully on their own biases and those of the adults around them and work to fully address these biases. For example, if an adult in a child’s life expresses racist views, educate them and closely monitor the time they spend with the child. Caregivers should also talk to their children about these adults and explain why what they are saying is hurtful and wrong. Anti-bias workshops provide effective reflection and training opportunities to prepare folks for these experiences.
3 Focus on children’s beliefs, not just their behaviours.
Do not wait until a child behaves in a biased way, as by then the underlying beliefs will have been formed. Instead be proactive in understanding children’s developing beliefs and correcting problematic beliefs and stereotypes before they lead to discriminatory behaviours.
Research finds that discussions that explicitly point out and condemn racist behaviour lead to less racial bias among children.[34] If the child attends a racially or ethnically diverse school, ask them about how people get along, who others in the class want to play with the most, and if there is anyone in the class people don’t like playing with. Look for racialised patterns and address them immediately.
Perry, S. P., Skinner-Dorkenoo, A. L., Abaied, J. L., & Waters, S. F. (2022). Applying the evidence we have: Support for having race conversations in White U.S. families. Perspectives on psychological science, 17, 895–900. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916211029950
If the child attends a racially or ethnically homogeneous school, talk to them about children from different groups – for example, characters from books or television shows – and ask how they might get along in their school. As you drive through different neighbourhoods, ask your child what they think about the houses and the people they see. Do they notice that some are larger than others? Talk to them – in words they can understand – about how some people have more privileges and opportunities than others, and how these privileges make it easier for some folks to afford larger houses.
The goal of these conversations should not be to minimise racial segregation or inequality, but to explain it. When children understand that interpersonal and structural racism characterise unfair systems that need to be fought against and actively challenged, the cycle of bias can begin to be broken.
