TITLE

How Kids Learn Prejudice

DESCRIPTION

This is a great article for use with either the child development chapters and most certainly Social Psychology chapters in the text book.  It briefly discusses the “Trump Effect” of the current election but most importantly points out that attitudes are developed early in childhood.   “Developmental psychology research has shown that by the time they start kindergarten, children begin to show many of the same implicit racial attitudes that adults in our culture hold. Children have already learned to associate some groups with higher status, or more positive value, than others.”

SOURCE

New York Times, October 21, 2016, by Katherine D Kindler

LINK TO RESOURCE

(Tiny URL)  http://tinyurl.com/gkrzwnj

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

•How does the author of the article describe the formation of attitudes in children?

•The author mentions media:  How do attitudes derive from watching media such as TV and movies?   (Ask the students to link this to Observational Learning)

•After reading the article and the social Psychology chapters:   how are attitudes formed according to Social Psychologists?  Similarly, ask the same question about social norms.

•Ask the students to differentiate the concepts of “attitude” and “prejudice.”