Publication Date

5-2007

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Dr. Kelly Madole (Director), Dr. Katrina Phelps, Dr. Elizabeth Lemerise

Degree Program

Department of Psychology

Degree Type

Specialist in Education

Abstract

Children’s understanding of race constancy and their subsequent use of race as a means of drawing inductive inferences were investigated. Race constancy was determined by children’s tendency to say that people could change category membership by changing their outside appearance. A second phase of the study measured how many race-based inferences children made relative to other social categories such as age or sex. The results indicated that children who had a better understanding of race constancy were also more likely to use race as a means of drawing inductive inferences. These findings support a developmental progression of race constancy and give insight to the development of potential bias and stereotypes.

Disciplines

Cognitive Psychology | Personality and Social Contexts | Psychology | Social Psychology

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