Teaching Teens To Be 'Color Mute' Has Downside
AUSTIN, TX — African American teenagers are significantly more supportive than whites of affirmative action and school desegregation, according to a new psychology study from The University of Texas at Austin. Rebecca Bigler, professor of psychology and director of the Gender and Racial Attitudes Lab at The University of Texas at Austin, and Julie Milligan Hughes, a developmental psychologist at the College of New Jersey, published their findings in the March issue ofDevelopmental Psychology. The study reveals differences of opinion within both racial groups on the use of race-conscious policies to promote racial equality. Among both African Americans and whites, the researchers found a strong connection between the respondents' disapproval of race-conscious policies and the belief that racial inequalities have disappeared in the United States. The researchers theorize that adolescence may be an especially significant stage of cognitive development when racial attitudes begin to take shape. During this critical stage of development, parents need to have direct conversations about race and racism with their teenagers to increase their understanding of racial disparities in the United States, Bigler said. "The most common mistake — especially with white parents — is they want their children to believe we live in a society where race doesn't matter, and they believe that being 'color mute' will achieve this goal," Bigler said. "Direct conversations at home and in the classroom about prejudice and discrimination can significantly improve children's attitudes about race." As part of the study, the psychologists surveyed 210 high school students between the ages of 14 and 17 about their views on affirmative action and school desegregation. In a series of studies, African American and white adolescents from diverse economic backgrounds answered questions about their knowledge of the history of racism and perceptions of racial discrimination. They also completed Implicit Association Tests (IAT), in which they reported their reactions to racial groups by associating positive and negative words with images of African American and white faces. According to the findings:
