Effect of Test Language and Experimenter Race on Canadian Indian Children's Racial and Self--Identity.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	Effect of Test Language and Experimenter Race on Canadian Indian Children's Racial and Self--Identity.
Authors:	Annis, Robert C., Corenblum, B.
Source:	Journal of Social Psychology. Dec1986, Vol. 126 Issue 6, p761. 13p.
Subjects:	Language ability testing, Language testing of children, First Nations of Canada, Age groups, Families, Race identity, Ojibwe children
Abstract:	The influence of test language and experimenter race on Indian children's racial preferences and self-identity were examined. Construct accessibility theory predicts that cues such as the experimenter's race and the test language used would prime race and race-related constructs, making them more accessible for processing race-related information. Both the escape and light-color bias hypotheses predict (for different reasons) that minority-group children should identify with and show a preference for white children. To test these ideas, Canadian Indian children living on an isolated Indian reserve were asked by a white or Indian experimenter who spoke English or Ojibwa to answer questions about their racial preferences and identity. Subjects responded by pointing to a picture of a white or Indian boy or girl. Results indicated that subjects misidentified which picture looked most like themselves, findings consistent with the escape and light-color bias hypotheses. Although subjects' racial preferences showed a strong white bias, more own-race preferences occurred when subjects were tested in Ojibwa, a finding consistent with construct accessibility theory. The results were discussed in terms of sensitivity to racial self-identity and in relation to the presence of in-group and out-group cues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection

Description
Abstract:	The influence of test language and experimenter race on Indian children's racial preferences and self-identity were examined. Construct accessibility theory predicts that cues such as the experimenter's race and the test language used would prime race and race-related constructs, making them more accessible for processing race-related information. Both the escape and light-color bias hypotheses predict (for different reasons) that minority-group children should identify with and show a preference for white children. To test these ideas, Canadian Indian children living on an isolated Indian reserve were asked by a white or Indian experimenter who spoke English or Ojibwa to answer questions about their racial preferences and identity. Subjects responded by pointing to a picture of a white or Indian boy or girl. Results indicated that subjects misidentified which picture looked most like themselves, findings consistent with the escape and light-color bias hypotheses. Although subjects' racial preferences showed a strong white bias, more own-race preferences occurred when subjects were tested in Ojibwa, a finding consistent with construct accessibility theory. The results were discussed in terms of sensitivity to racial self-identity and in relation to the presence of in-group and out-group cues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	00224545
DOI:	10.1080/00224545.1986.9713658