In 1968, an Iowa teacher, Jane Elliott, conducted an experiment with her third-grade class. She divided the group into blue-eyed kids and brown-eyed kids. The first day, she praised the blue-eyed kids and discriminated against the others. The next day, she reversed roles, favoring the brown-eyed children and criticizing the blue-eyed ones.
When I first read a brief synopsis of the experiment, I didn't buy it. I thought, there's no way third-graders would fall for something like that- they can't be brainwashed in just two days. I was very wrong. Initially, the children laughed at the idea that one group was superior because of eye color, but as the teacher continually praised the blue-eyed kids, the children really started to buy into the idea. The teacher told the blue-eyed kids that they were better, gave them extra time at recess, and explained that they were smarter. As they worked, she encouraged them and told them they'd be able to finish faster because they were more intelligent. Surprisingly, they actually were able to finish their assignments faster than the brown-eyed kids, who were discouraged because they were being told they were slow and dumb. The kids truly believed that their eye color made them innately superior or inferior, and their performance began to reflect their pride or insecurities, respectively.
The next day, the teacher told the children that she had lied the day before, and that the brown-eyed kids were in fact smarter than the blue-eyed ones. The brown-eyed children's faces lit up as they began to feel superior and powerful. The roles completely reversed; as the brown-eyed students were praised for their natural intelligence, they began to preform better and faster than they had the day before. The blue-eyed kids had trouble with the same tasks they had excelled in the day before. These were the exact same groups of children, with the same intelligence as they'd had the day before, but because they felt different about their "natural abilities," their performance actually changed.
I was shocked to see how easily these children could be persuaded about their supposed inherent value. And it didn't merely affect the "superior" group; the inferior group really believed that they were inferior to the other children. It made me curios about how each group of people felt during the Holocaust and slave trade, and how different groups of people feel today. Not only did the Aryan race feel naturally superior, but many of the Jews and other people who were discriminated against must have felt that they actually were inferior. Similarly, blacks during the slave trade and civil rights movement (maybe even still today) may have believed what whites were feeding them- that they were naturally dumb or primitive. I find it incredibly interesting how quickly people can begin to believe what their leaders tell them, especially regarding "inherent status" in association with things like skin color, eye color, race, etc. It also makes me wonder what stereotypes I carry without even knowing it.
Here's the link to the video. What do you guys think about it?
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
When I first read the post, I wondered whether adults would respond the same way as the children did, since children are normally seen as being more susceptible to being brainwashed. Thus, it was interesting to see in the video that adults also started acting drastically different towards people of a particular eye color in only a day. No matter what age, people are affected by the opinions and actions of someone in power.
ReplyDeleteThis video also shows how much racism is politically and socially constructed and that any difference in looks could be construed as superior or inferior with enough support and resources. It reminded me of the tv episode “The House We Live In” and how throughout history, the U.S. court ruled who was “white.” The definition of “white” changed over time and differed depending on what state you were living in. In my own life, people have often thought I was different races depending on their background experiences and on factors such as how tan I was at the time or how I did my hair for the day.
The video also supports the argument that a “colorblind” society does not equate to equality. The kids that felt inferior often did not realize how negative their feelings were. Since racism has existed for generations, if we just start ignoring it now, people could be unconsciously trapped in a feeling of inferiority without knowing differently.
I feel that this type of awareness of racism and classism should be taught more prevalently, but unfortunately people are often too afraid that they will be sued or that people will complain. If these studies are right in proving that people can perform better and faster by being treated well, leaders and bosses could greatly benefit my applying these principles.