This story appeared in the Spring 2021 Letters & Science magazine.
As a PhD student, Katharine Scott focused her research on a multitude of forces that lead to the creation and perpetuation of children’s biases. In one of her early studies, non-Black children ages 4–6 played a game in which they received help from Black or White players. Helpful players were all members of one racial group (e.g., Black) and unhelpful players were members of the other group (e.g., White). After receiving help from Black players, participants became more favorable toward both Black players who helped and those helpers’ Black friends, but not toward unfamiliar Black people.
Scott concluded that “one-shot laboratory interventions often only produce effects that are short-lived.”
Scott, who works in the Social Kids Lab (run by psychology professor Kristin Shutts) and the Prejudice and Intergroup Relations Lab (run by psychology professor Patricia Devine), knew that children have trouble identifying discrimination prior to 8 years of age, making it unlikely that they could recognize and reduce their own biases. Even if they could do so, young children do not have the requisite self-regulatory skills to monitor and adjust their behavior over time. Long-term interventions, Scott concluded, would require adult assistance.
Scott decided to focus her dissertation research on evaluating the extent to which parents can be trained as interventionists to address young children’s racial bias.
So far, Scott reports deep engagement from parents and children. “They love the materials that we are sending them, and they are flying through lessons,” she says.
After piloting, the full study will be rolled out and run through spring 2021. The work has already caught the attention of EmbraceRace, a nonprofit dedicated to identifying and creating tools, resources and networks to nurture resilience in children of color and “support a movement of kid and adult racial justice advocates for all children.”
The organization made a gift of $46,000 to the Prejudice and Intergroup Relations Lab to help further research that focuses on the experiences of children and youth, with specific direction to fund Scott’s efforts to understand how parents can interrupt the development of racial biases in their children. While not a granting institution, EmbraceRace wanted to share some of the donations it received after the killing of George Floyd.
“Katharine’s work builds on the only intervention of which I’m aware that has real effects over time—two years—on the attitudes and dispositions of people who undertake it,” says Andrew Grant-Thomas, director of EmbraceRace.
Devine says people have asked her for years about the benefits of “starting earlier” to prevent the development of biases.
“As it turns out, biases in children are evident at an early age, but the prospect of intervening with the help of parents before the biases become deeply entrenched holds considerable promise for reducing biases,” she says.
Ultimately, Scott says, she strives for her research to have a meaningful impact in the world.
“If my dissertation work proves beneficial, I’ll continue conducting research to evaluate under which conditions my intervention yields positive effects,” she says. “I hope to collaborate with organizations to disseminate my intervention program broadly to parents across the country.”
