Almost all of the 28 children in Hilltop Child Development Center's Jayhawk room voted for Barack Obama in their class' mock election. Each of the children, ranging from ages 6 to 12 years old, seemed to be aware that Obama was black, and that his election would make him the first minority president in U.S. history.
"It means a lot to us and it's good for African-Americans because they haven't had a chance. This is a very big celebration," 9-year-old Nora said while sewing a brightly colored felt pillow.
7-year-old Landon disagreed.
"Americans don't want an African-American to be president," Landon said. "It's going to change a lot."
KU's Meagan Patterson has been studying the psychology behind children's attitudes on race. Now, she is involved with a new study that hopes to discover whether Obama's election could change children's perceptions of race.
Patterson, who holds a doctorate in developmental psychology, conducted research in 2006 with the University of Texas at Austin that looked at children's explanations for the succession of white-male presidents in American history. She said that new data would be collected until December to see if the recent election changed any of these beliefs. Researchers in 2006 interviewed 205 children between the ages of 5 and 10 from different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. They found that most children were aware that women and minorities had been excluded from the U.S. presidency, but still believed all races and genders should be able to become president. One-third of the children cited voter racial and gender bias as to why only white-males had been elected. Another third of the participants believed members of the excluded groups were unfit to hold the position of president. The remaining third of the children believed it was illegal for minorities or women to be president.
"It was a really dramatic case in that way," Patterson said. "We wanted to look at the big societal exclusion, and with the presidency, we all get to decide who gets the job, so it really has the opportunity to tell kids about gender and racial attitudes in America."
Patterson said Obama's victory indicated racial attitudes have improved since 2006. Researchers will collect new data for the study, which is also being conducted by the University of Texas, in hopes to determine how these attitudes have changed according to a child's age and racial group. Psychology indicates that a child seeing someone in the same ethnic group as them achieve success increases their confidence that they can do the same, Patterson said.
Because of this widely held belief, she said the study would also see how, or if, the election impacted minority children's career aspirations. Obama's example, she explained, set a standard for minority children who not only wanted to be president when they grow up, but also for children who would even consider it.
"What kids want to do when they grow up is going to influence what they do even if they ultimately don't do it," Patterson said. "So if you want to be president that's going to influence you to go to college or law school even if they don't get to be president."
Yolanda Jackson, an associate professor in KU's Department of Psychology, is one of the seven members of the American Psychological Association's Task Force on Resilience and Strength in Black Children and Adolescence. The task force, in 2006, looked at 450 studies of black individuals between the ages of 5 to 21 from various socioeconomic conditions and geographical areas. Jackson, who holds a doctorate in clinical child psychology, said that the task force tried to find solutions to the risk factors traditionally associated with black society that would propel young black people to become successful.
"Being poor is a risk for everybody. But there are plenty of people who were poor who are successful," Jackson said. "Instead we need to think about how poor kids become successful."
The point of the task force was to describe what set up black children for success, and to compile that information in a report that policy makers could easily refer to, Jackson said. The report took two years to write but the task force will continue researching the issue, she said. The task force report called for future research to consider the complexities of black society as potentially beneficial characteristics of black culture.
Four themes; active engagement, flexibility, communalism, and critical-mindedness, the report concluded, characterized successful young black Americans. The report outlined how these themes influenced young black people's self-identity, as well as physical, cognitive, social and emotional development.
"As Americans we expect things to be instant. We want things automatically. But change always happens slowly," Jackson said. "But I think this is the start of it, and we can be excited about it."
Koga Moffor, Overland Park senior and Black Student Union president, agreed with Jackson. She said that although Obama's victory would probably have little impact on older generations' attitudes of black people, it would likely change how younger children view racial stereotypes. Moffor said the psychological implications of young generations growing up when black people could be and have been president indicated a positive change in how Americans would identify themselves in the future.
"I think it changes the country's identity completely," Moffor said. "If Americans can take such a step in having a black president, it just shows that were taking a positive step."
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