Young Children & Implicit Racial Biases

Abstract

Children are not born harboring racial biases, but they are born learning. Young children, even infants, learn from the “mere observation” of other people’s behavior. Nonverbal signals of racial biases are abundant in children’s everyday social environments. Studies show that preschool children acquire social group biases when they observe other people’s social interactions and nonverbal behaviors. These new findings have implications for child development and educational equity. Even before kindergarten, racial biases are caught even when not explicitly taught, suggesting the need for practical actions for parents, teachers, and others concerned about the transmission of racial bias across generations.