Relation of Racial Attitudes to Sociometric Choices among Second Grade Children

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of a study of the relation of racial attitudes to interpersonal choice behavior among second grade school children. Children (32 Euro-American and 20 Afro-American) who comprised two intact classrooms in an integrated public school were administered the Preschool Racial Attitude Measure (PRAM II) and a sociometric procedure which asked them to choose classmates as associates for three different activities. For all subjects, a correlation of .52 was obtained between the degree of pro-Euro/anti-Afro bias displayed on PRAM II and the frequency of choice of Euro-American associates. There was some evidence of less racial bias and less frequent choice of Euro-associates in a racially balanced classroom than in a classroom which was predominantly Euro-American. It was concluded that the study supported the validity of the PRAM II procedure as a method for assessing racial attitudes in young children.