Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to investigate White and Minority children's racial preference. A total of 51 preschoolers between the ages of 4 and 5 years (M = 57.73 months, SD = 4.66) participated in the study. Participants were divided in two groups based on their racial background: White (N = 25) and Minority (N = 26). Each child was assessed on 3 measures: the Multiple Response Racial Attitude (MRA, Doyle & Aboud, 1995), a picture selection/rejection task and a self-identification task. Results indicated that White children demonstrated similar level of prejudice toward Black and Asian. Also, Minority children seemed to evaluate Whites more positively than they evaluated other Minorities. However, a comparison of the MRA prejudice scores revealed no significant difference between White and Minority participants. In addition, significant correlation between the MRA scores and the picture selection of in-group was found. No gender effect was revealed.