Bias Awareness Predicts Color Conscious Racial Socialization Methods among White Parents

Abstract

The majority of White parents in the United States are uncomfortable discussing race with their children and tend to avoid it. When they do discuss race with their children, they often take a color blind approach—in which they emphasize a belief that race does not matter—instead of a color conscious approach—in which they acknowledge race‐related issues. In the current study, we sought to explore the individual difference factors that may be associated with White American parents’ racial socialization practices. Results indicated that parents’ racial bias awareness was associated with greater willingness to discuss race with their children, increased color consciousness, and decreased color blindness; when statistically controlling for their racial attitudes, motivations to respond without prejudice, and interracial contact. The potential impacts of bias awareness interventions on White parents’ racial socialization behaviors are discussed.

Socialization of racial ideology by White parents.

“…Although much less common, some White parents communicate color conscious racial ideology, which calls attention to and condemns racial inequality and acknowledges the value of racial diversity. Color conscious ideology has multiple forms, such as encouraging children to acknowledge racial prejudice, valuing racial diversity, endorsing equal treatment of different races, and teaching children about how racism occurs in American society (Hagerman, 2014;Perry et al, 2019;Vittrup, 2018). Color conscious ideology directly challenges colorblindness by celebrating racial diversity rather than minimizing it, openly acknowledging rather than denying the impact of race on people's lives through discrimination and structural racism, and advocating Racial Ideology for equal rights and treatment across different racial groups.…”

Racial Inequality in Psychological Research: Trends of the Past and Recommendations for the Future

“…Evidence for this emerges early in development. For example, in the United States, White children experience racial diversity and discrimination less often than do children of color, and White parents speak with their children about race less often than do parents of color, which results in White children being less focused on race and less sensitive to racial issues than are children of color (Hughes, 2003; Pahlke, Bigler, & Suizzo, 2012; Perry, Skinner, & Abaied, 2019; Quinn et al, 2019; Roberts & Gelman, 2016, 2017). By adulthood, White persons are more likely than persons of color (POCs) to avoid conversations about race, potentially because they feel inexperienced in the subject or because they are motivated, either consciously or unconsciously, to maintain an illusion of postracialism (Apfelbaum, Pauker, Ambady, Sommers, & Norton, 2008; Bonilla-Silva, 2010; Cole, 2015; DiAngelo, 2012; Nzinga et al, 2018; Rowley & Camacho, 2015; Salter, Adams, & Perez, 2018).…”

Methods for Advancing an Open, Replicable, and Inclusive Science of Social Cognition

“…As just one illustration, recent evidence suggests that White faces may be processed differently from other faces (Xie, Flake, Stolier, Freeman, & Hehman, 2021). However, despite the central importance of race and racism for structuring psychological experience, White people are especially unlikely to notice or talk about race and racism (Nelson et al, 2012;Pauker et al, 2015;Perry et al, 2019). White psychologists are no exception: The vast majority of psychological research articles do not mention race (DeJesus et al, 2019), and White editors are less likely to publish papers that highlight race .…”