Andy Luttrell

@andyluttrell.bsky.social

2171 Followers 487 Following

Associate Professor of Psych Science at Ball State. Studies moral opinions & persuasive messages. Science communicator. Host of the podcast "Opinion Science." Letterpress printing enthusiast. He/him.

Opinion science. Episode 117. Can we solve the climate crisis with joy? Featuring Elizabeth Dunn and Jiaying Zhao
A photo of my typewriter--a Smith-Corona Silent Super--a sheet of Letraset dry transfer letters, Perry's paper, my handwritten notes, and an edited first draft of these posts.
For more on this, listen to my conversation with Dr. Sylvia Perry on Opinion Science wherever you get your podcasts! Perry, S., et al. (2024). White parents' racial socialization during a guided discussion predicts declines in White childrens' pro-White biases. Developmental Psychology, 60(4), 624-636.
So, these findings suggest that parents can help their kids (and themselves) have more tolerant views by explicitly acknowledging racism, especially in its more subtle forms, and not just redirecting attention away from race or just emphasizing that it doesn't matter.
These benefits were strongest when discussing instances of subtle racism: videos where bias may have occurred but wasn't obvious. Like a White child being uncomfortable around a Black child. These discussions may be most beneficial because they help kids navigate common situations that they don't otherwise notice as wrong.
Another approach was the clear winner: color-conscious messaging. This included calling out prejudice for what it was and connecting what happened in the videos to societal racism.
BUT! The type of conversation mattered. Sometimes, kids and parents made colorblind comments, denying the role of race or directing attention away from it. This approach made the conversations less beneficial for reducing prejudice.
These conversations reshaped prejudice. Both kids and their parents were less quick to associate "White" with "good" and "Black" with "bad" following their discussions.
But what if they did? A few years ago, social psychologists facilitated conversations between 84 parents and their kids. They played brief cartoon scenarios of subtle and blatant racial prejudice and invited them to talk about what they saw.
Careful surveys find that most White parents avoid talking about race with their kids. Even when given the opportunity, only 6% of parents made comments about race, ethnicity, or diversity with their preschoolers.
The Science of How to Talk to Kids About Race: A Typewritten Look at the Evidence