Reducing children’s implicit and explicit racial biases through physical exercise

• In Event: Reducing Racial Prejudice and Stereotypes in Childhood: New Evidence for Debiasing Programs

Abstract

Implicit bias training mainly targeted at adults’ implicit bias. In a large-scale experimental study (Lai et al., 2016), nine interventions were tested, and none achieved long-term effects after a delay of several hours to several days. One reason for the persistence of implicit bias may be that implicit bias is too entrenched by adulthood. In the present research, we sought how implicit bias can be reduced for the long term in young children and whether it would be possible to reduce both implicit and explicit racial bias concurrently.

To achieve this goal, we developed and tested a coordinated movement approach, which involves performing exercising with other-race individuals shown on video. The novel approach involves individuation (Qian et al., 2017a, 2017b), extended contact (Cameron & Rutland, 2006), and synchronous movement (Qian et al., 2020). These three critical components have been suggested to reduce children’s implicit racial bias effectively. In our study, 5-year-old children in China (N = 63, Mage = 5.8 years) performed exercises led by four Black individuals in two 30 minutes sessions that were one week apart. We measured both implicit and explicit racial biases towards Blacks. Also, we measured children’s feelings of similarity, closeness, warmth, and competence towards one familiar Black individual they saw in the video and one unfamiliar Black individual they had never seen.

We found that performing 2-repeated physical activities with four Black individuals reduced implicit anti-Black bias, F(4, 54) = 4.95, p = .002, partial η²= .27, and explicit anti-Black biases , F(4, 53) = 9.34, p <.001, partial η²= .41, both lasted for 17 weeks. A control condition showed that the same approach had no significant effects on the implicit or explicit anti-Black bias when Chinese individuals led the exercises, ps > .996.

Together, we suggest that the initial physical activities with Blacks, along with a supplementary one, reduced children’s implicit and explicit anti-Black biases for at least 17 weeks. Our coordinated movement activity, which can easily be incorporated into educational settings, can be used on a large scale to lead to lasting reductions in implicit and explicit racial biases in children.

Authors

• Miao Qian, University of Detroit Mercy
  Presenting Author

• Gail D Heyman, University of California - San Diego
  Non-Presenting Author

• Paul C Quinn, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author

• Genyue Fu, Hangzhou Normal University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kang Lee, University of Toronto
  Non-Presenting Author