Parental impact on child prejudice in New Zealand

Abstract

Research to date has shown mixed results that prejudice against out-group individuals may be explained through parent and child relationships and the attitudes held within. Some theorists suggest that children develop negative out-group attitudes through facets not relating to parents (Clark, Hocevar, & Dembo, 1980; Dunham, Baron & Banaji, 2008; Nesdale, 2004; 2008; Tajfel & Turner, 1979; Clark, Hocevar, and Dembo 1980; Nesdale, 2004; 2008, Dunham et al., 2008), while others suggest a highly influential relationship (Allport, 1954; Bar-Tal & Teichman, 2005; Dalhouse & Frideres, 1996; Bar-Tal & Teichman, 2005; Degner & Dalege, 2013). Much of the research in this area has also been completed in North American contexts, focusing solely on the relationship between Caucasians and African Americans (Black-Gutman & Hickson, 1996). In an attempt to settle the ambiguity of the role of parents in children’s attitudes, the present experiment sought to measure implicit beliefs of both parent and children alike on the growing Asian immigrant population in New Zealand. This experiment used a variety of previously utilised measures for parents including SDO/RWA scales (Duckitt, 2001), and the IAT (Greenwald, Nosek, & Banaji, 2003), and the playmate preference task for children (Castelli, Tomerlleleri & Zogmasieter, 2009). This experiment also introduced the use of Virtual Reality and the first child adapted SDO/RWA scales to measure child attitudes. Results suggest that parents typically score low on their measures, while their children independently score highly on measures. However, the relationship between parents and children supports a strong relationship between parent and child beliefs. From understanding the role of parents in the development of their child’s attitudes, we have experimental evidence to support that parents in New Zealand significantly impact their child’s attitudes on out-group individuals.