Title
The Colors of the Rainbow: Children's Racial Self-Classification
Document Type
Contribution to Book
Publication Date
2001
Abstract
In this paper, I argue that children's racial self-classification and their views of their friends reflect much more complex social reality than adult conceptions may acknowledge. This research emphasizes that in certain spheres, children have much less racist conceptions of the world than do adults. In general, social psychologists have argued that adults develop cognitive categories to simplify or categorize, but in so doing they lose a sense of the individual's qualities in the process. This work argues that life experiences can be a negative factor in social development, and that children's racial self-classification and racial attitudes are more socially holistic than adults' perspectives. By not categorizing people on the basis of their skin color, children allow other's actions to speak louder than their physical appearances.
Editor
David A. Kinney
Publisher
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
City
Bingley, UK
ISBN
9780762300518, 9781784413057
Repository Citation
Tynes, S. R., (2001). The color of the rainbow: Children's racial self-classification. In D. A. Kinney (Eds.), Sociological Studies of Children and Youth (vol. 8, pp. 69-85). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Publication Information
Sociological Studies of Children and Youth