MetaTOC stay on top of your field, easily

A Long‐Term Effect of Perceptual Individuation Training on Reducing Implicit Racial Bias in Preschool Children

, , , , ,

Child Development

Published online on

Abstract

This study tracked the long‐term effect of perceptual individuation training on reducing 5‐year‐old Chinese children's (N = 95, Mage = 5.64 years) implicit pro‐Asian/anti‐Black racial bias. Initial training to individuate other‐race Black faces, followed by supplementary training occurring 1 week later, resulted in a long‐term reduction of pro‐Asian/anti‐Black bias (70 days). In contrast, training Chinese children to recognize White or Asian faces had no effect on pro‐Asian/anti‐Black bias. Theoretically, the finding that individuation training can have a long‐term effect on reducing implicit racial bias in preschoolers suggests that a developmentally early causal linkage between perceptual and social processing of faces is not a transitory phenomenon. Practically, the data point to an effective intervention method for reducing implicit racism in young children.