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CNN's AC 360° partnered with a team of child development psychologists to recreate and update the famous Doll Test. The results are shared in a CNN special series titled "Black or White: Kids on Race" which airs the week of May 17. CNN anchor and series host Anderson Cooper graciously agreed to answer a few questions about the special for the BlogHer community.
Maria Niles: What led you/CNN to explore re-creating the famous Doll Test originally conducted by Kenneth and Mamie Clark in the 1940s? Why is it an important conversation to have in America in 2010?
Anderson Cooper: We wanted to see what has changed, what hasn't. The methodology is different from the Clark's tests, so you can't really compare them. The team of psychologists who conducted the pilot study for us talked to both African-American kids and white kids, and the children were presented with images that had a wide range of skin colors.
In terms of why it is an important conversation to have, I think that's one of the things some of the kids' responses really demonstrate. Not having conversations with your kids about race, about perceptions of other people, doesn't stop them from forming opinions or in some cases biases. The researchers were pointing out to us that parents will often talk to their kids about gender, but race is a topic that is difficult and can be uncomfortable. Many of the parents I interviewed after the study said they had assumed their kids were colorblind and therefore they didn't really discuss the issue very often. I know many of the parents came away from the study feeling they needed to have more regular conversations with their children about race.
MN: What surprised you the most about the results? Saddened you the most? Gave you the most hope?
AC: I was personally surprised by the speed at which the younger children answered the questions. Now, there can be many reasons why a five-year-old white child immediately points to a dark skin doll when asked, "Which of these is the ugly child, or the mean child, or the dumb child?" But many responded right away and without hesitation.
What gives me the most hope? It does seem like talking with your child about race, about perceptions of other people with different skin colors, really can make a difference. As the researchers indicated to us, though, it's got to be more than just one conversation, and it's got to be more than just talk. It seems like parents really need to expose kids to a variety of cultures and people.
MN: Why should people watch the special? What do you want people to take away? What did you learn?
AC: I think it's a fascinating series of reports. Our researchers interviewed more than 130 kids in eight different schools. We all like to think we are colorblind, that we don't have biases, but to see a five-year-old child give answers which repeatedly seem to indicate some level of bias is telling.
The professionals we hired to do this pilot study will tell you, this is not a definitive study. Further research is needed, but the results are fascinating, and our interviews with the kids' parents afterwards are very moving. Many of the parents were surprised by what their kids said, and I think it makes all of us think about how we perceive others, and how those perceptions are formed, and why they are formed so early.
MN: There was a recent study that found links between color-blind ideology and an unwillingness or inability to perceive racism in imagery. Do the findings in the pilot study covered in the documentary argue for or against efforts to raise children to be color-blind? Is it even possible to be color-blind given the degree of awareness of race and racial differences even at a young age?
AC: I think many people like to believe they are color-blind, but studies show that we do perceive color. The real question, I think, is what judgements does
