Implicit and Explicit Ethnic Group Attitudes: Links To Individual And Group Esteem Stephanie C. Davis*, Patrick J. Leman** & Martyn Barrett* * Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 5XH, UK ** Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Surrey, TW20 OEX, UK Introduction •Social identity theory and its developmental offspring, Social Identity Development theory (SIDT – Nesdale, 2000) suggest that one role of in-group biasing is to enhance or increase an individual’s self-esteem. Consequently we might expect high esteem to be positively related to ethnic group attitudes. •Research has suggested that, particularly in the developmental context, the picture may not be as clear-cut as: (i) Ethnic minority and ethnic majority group children often show differential patterns of ethnic group attitude development (see Spencer & Markstrom-Adams, 1990) (ii) Children exhibit a division between explicitly expressed and implicitly held ethnic group attitudes (Davis & Leman, 2004) Aim •To explore links between the development of ethnic group stereotyping and individual esteem. Design Considerations •Concepts of ‘ethnicity and ‘race’ are problematic in the British context with a clear division between the two not always being evident •‘Ethnic Group’ can be defined by religion, skin colour and family’s country of origin •Study used ‘ethnicity’ defined by (i) societal ethnic group label (‘skin colour’ labelling) and (ii) family’s historic country of origin Participants •112 Black (African-Caribbean heritage) and White (English heritage) British children (58 girls and 54 boys) attending a multi-ethnic primary school in London, UK •Three age groups - 34 5-year-olds (20 Black and 14 White), 41 7-year-olds (21 Black and 20 White) 37 9-year-olds (21 Black and 16 White) Phase One: Implicit Test (based on Nesdale, 2000). •Story Memory Task incorporating 8 stereotypical traits (4 +ve and 4 –ve) for each of the two target ethnic group characters •Video presentation of story •Assessed via stereotypes recalled per character References •Davis S.C., & Leman, P.J. (2004). Children’s Implicit and Explicit Ethnic Group Attitudes. Poster presented at the 18th Biennial meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD), July 11-15, Ghent, Belgium. •Doyle, A. B., Beaudet, J. & Aboud, F. E. (1987). Developmental patterns in the flexibility of children’s ethnic attitudes. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 19, 3-18. •Harter, S. (1985). The Self-Perception Profile for Children. Unpublished manual, University of Denver, Denver, CO. •Nesdale (2000). Developmental Changes in Ethnic Preferences and Social Cognitions. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 20, 4, 501-519. •Spencer, M.B. & Markstrom-Adams, C. (1990). Identity processes among racial and ethnic minority children in America. Child Development, 61, 290- 310. Phase Two: Explicit Test (based on the Multiple Response Racial Attitude; Doyle, Beaudet & Aboud, 1987). •16 stereotypical traits which could be assigned to a Black or White character in turn •Non comparative, multi response, order of presentation counterbalanced across the group Phase Two: Individual Esteem (the Self-Perception Profile; Harter, 1985) – the social acceptance and global self-worth subscales were used. Results: Implicit Task •More consistent versus inconsistent stereotypical trait information recalled for Black character only (t (101) = 3.27, p<.001) •Children’s difference scores (inconsistent vs. consistent) for recall of stereotypical information regarding Black character (F (2, 90) = 3.74, p -<.05) decreased with age Results: Explicit Task •More stereotype consistent vs. inconsistent traits assigned to Black character (t (103)= 2.293, p<.05) •More stereotype consistent than inconsistent traits assigned to Black story character (t (103) = 2. 05, p<.05) Results: Implicit vs. Explicit All implicit vs. explicit difference significant at p=.05 level Results: Self-Esteem No effect of age for children’s scores on either subscale Summary of Findings • Black children with higher self-worth showed higher implicit in-group stereotyping; White children with higher self-worth stereotyped the out-group less •Black children's perceived social acceptance was unrelated to implicit in-group stereotyping •White children's perceived social acceptance was unrelated to implicit out-group stereotyping •Black children's perceived social acceptance was unrelated to implicit out-group stereotyping •For White children, high perceived social acceptance was associated with greater in-group stereotyping •Black children with higher global self worth showed more explicit in-group stereotyping •For Black children, high perceived social acceptance associated with higher explicit out-group stereotyping •White children’s self-esteem was unrelated to their explicit ethnic group stereotyping Results: Self-Esteem and Implicit Bias – Black Character •Black children’s global self-worth was positively related to consistent stereotyping of the Black character (r =.304, p>.05); White children’s global self-worth positively related to inconsistent stereotyping of the Black character (r =.309, p>.05). •Black children’s social acceptance was unrelated to their stereotyping of the Black character. •White children’s social acceptance subscale unrelated to their stereotyping of the Black character. •White children’s global self worth higher than Black children’s (t (101) = -2.06, p< .05). •Children’s global self-worth higher than their social acceptance (t(102)= -4.26, p< .001). Results: Self Esteem and Implicit Bias - White Character •White children’s social acceptance was inversely related to inconsistent stereotyping of the White character (r =-.386, p>.05). •Black children’s social acceptance and global self-worth were unrelated to their stereotyping of the white character 2.44 3.25 1.88 3.88 White Negative Traits 2.2 4.88 1.44 2.83 White Positive Traits 2.46 2.94 1.67 3.33 Black Negative Traits 1.87 5.63 1.80 4.39 Black Positive Traits Std. Dev. Mean Std. Dev. Mean Explicit Task Implicit Task Story Character Ethnicity 2.44 3.25 1.88 3.88 White Negative Traits 2.2 4.88 1.44 2.83 White Positive Traits 2.46 2.94 1.67 3.33 Black Negative Traits 1.87 5.63 1.80 4.39 Black Positive Traits Std. Dev. Mean Std. Dev. Mean Explicit Task Implicit Task Story Character Ethnicity 3.17 (.53) 3.30 (.54) 3.08 (.50) Global Self- worth 2.89 (.54) 2.96 (.55) 2.84 (.53) Social Acceptance All children (N=112) White (N=50) Black (N=62) Black Mean Std. Dev. Mean 3.17 (.53) 3.30 (.54) 3.08 (.50) Global Self- worth 2.89 (.54) 2.96 (.55) 2.84 (.53) Social Acceptance All children (N=112) White (N=50) Black (N=62) Black Mean Std. Dev. Mean Results: Self Esteem and Explicit Bias •Black children’s global self-worth was inversely related to inconsistent stereotyping of the Black character (r =-.379, p<.01) and their social acceptance was inversely related to inconsistent stereotyping of the White character (r =-.289, p>.05) •White children’s self-esteem was unrelated to their explicit stereotyping of either character Procedure •Children were seen on two separate occasions – three weeks apart