Rich or Black? Examining Attitudes Toward Children Who Differ by Wealth and Race

Abstract

Wealth-based biases are deeply intertwined with perceptions of race (e.g., Olson et al., 2012). I examined adults’ (Studies 1-3) and children’s (Study 3) associations with race and wealth using a child-friendly Implicit Association Test (IAT) and explicit measures. When adult participants were asked to categorize by wealth (Study 1 and 2) or race (Study 2), they showed positive associations with wealthier targets (regardless of target’s race) or White targets, respectively. When ambiguously categorizing wealthier Black and poorer White children based on wealth and/or race, adult (Study 2 and 3) and child (Study 3) participants attended more to race cues and exhibited a racial bias. On explicit measures, participants (Studies 1-3) showed a pro-wealth bias but only children exhibited a pro-White bias. The findings demonstrate the contextual and intersectional nature of biases, and the importance of social categorization processes in informing bias, even in perceptions towards children.