Ethnic Identification, Preference and Sociometric Choice

Abstract

The work reported in this chapter forms part of a more comprehensive investigation² into the development of children’s ethnic attitudes. The main study was designed to investigate the manifestations of racial awareness in young children at three levels: the perception of differences, the criteria employed to form person categories, and their attitudes towards members of other ethnic groups. In addition, a test of cognitive ability was included in the battery and a sociometric study was made of the children’s friendship patterns. The parents of all the children were interviewed by own-race interviewers.

Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society (Education Section) Conference, Oxford, September 1979.