Effect of test language and experimenter race on canadian indian children's racial and self-identity

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Abstract

The influence of test language and experimenter race on Indian children's racial preferences and self-identity were examined. Construct accessibility theory predicts that cues such as the experimenter's race and the test language used would prime race and race-related constructs, making them more accessible for processing race-related information. Both the escape and light-color bias hypotheses predict (for different reasons) that minority-group children should identify with and show a preference for white children. To test these ideas, Canadian Indian children living on an isolated Indian reserve were asked by a white or Indian experimenter who spoke English or Ojibwa to answer questions about their racial preferences and identity. Subjects responded by pointing to a picture of a white or Indian boy or girl. Results indicated that subjects misidentified which picture looked most like themselves, findings consistent with the escape and light-color bias hypotheses. Although subjects' racial preferences showed a strong white bias, more own-race preferences occurred when subjects were tested in Ojibwa, a finding consistent with construct accessibility theory. The results were discussed in terms of sensitivity to racial self-identity and in relation to the presence of in-group and out-group cues. © 1986 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

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Annis, R. C., & Corenblum, B. (1986). Effect of test language and experimenter race on canadian indian children’s racial and self-identity. Journal of Social Psychology, 126(6), 761–773. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.1986.9713658

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