Perceptions of Beauty Among Young Children in a Multicultural Society
Graduation Date
Spring 2002
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Document Form
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy
Degree Granting Institution
Notre Dame de Namur University
Program Name
Art Therapy
Abstract
The present study investigated the perceptions of beauty among preschool and kindergarten children in Foster City and San Mateo. It has been found repeatedly in early research that children become aware of racial differences at approximately three years of age. They learn by that age that people come in different sizes, colors, and genders. They begin to develop racial self- identity at approximately three to four years. At that time, they also develop racial preferences. In order to examine whether there continues to be a preference for “White” among children growing up in the diversity of the Bay Area, this study replicated research employing the Clark Doll Test (Clark & Clark, 1947). To represent current racial diversity, children were presented with four Barbie dolls representing the four main ethnic groups in the Bay Area: Caucasian, Hispanic, African- American, and Asian. Since it has not been empirically proven that racial preference reflects self- concept or self- esteem of children, the focus of this work was on beauty preferences of children ages three to six years without making any assumptions about racial awareness, identification, or self- esteem of any particular ethnic group. The doll choice task was to give the examiner the “prettiest doll.” This study illustrates a preference for the Caucasian, blonde, and blue- eyed beauty among minority and Caucasian preschool and kindergarten children.