St. Paul University Quezon City
Aurora Blvd. Corner Gilmore Avenue

A Research Study on how does skin color affects child’s perception towards a person

Submitted to:
Ms. Amy Corado

Submitted by:
Bilano, Clareze
Bonina, Mary Isabelle
Bustamante,Clarenz

CHAPTER I
Introduction
Most people assume that they see the same thing as other people, taking into account corrections for refractive errors with eyeglasses. However, there is now substantial evidence to suggest that this is not the case. Namely, we do not see exactly what others see. Racism is the belief that characteristics and abilities can be attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others. Even though race and color clearly overlap, they are not synonymous. Thus, color discrimination can occur between persons of different races or ethnicities, or between persons of the same race or ethnicity. Racism and discrimination have been used as powerful weapons encouraging fear or hatred of others in times of conflict and war, and even during economic downturns. Racism is also a very touchy subject for some people, as issues concerning free speech and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights come into play. It may be a factor contributing to poor health and health care disparities in minority children through multiple mechanisms, including effects on psychological and physical well-being. Little is known about the experiences of racism that children encounter in their lives. This study describes the occurrences of perceived racism in children, including the settings and contexts in which it occurs.
Some people argue that talking about supporting racial discrimination and prejudice is just words and that free speech should allow such views to be aired without restriction. Others point out that these words can lead to some very dire and serious consequences. The Understanding Race project from the American Anthropological Association says race is a powerful idea and an enduring concept, invented by society. It has also fostered inequality and discrimination for centuries, as well as influencing how we relate to other human beings. Piaget's theory - that children begin with intuitive concepts based on immediate experiences and gradually become capable of increasingly complex and logical thinking - need not be endorsed to agree that adults have a role to play in teaching children to be anti-racist. In order to play this role, adults must first be clear themselves as to the distinction between racism and racial identity. There are racial differences. Children can see them. We do not wish to deny them. These differences only become racist when either inferior or superior value labels are placed upon them. The concept of race is basically a social concept, in that the classifications of group membership have been decided by people within particular social systems. Racial (and national) identity includes a complex 6 interrelationship among cultural, historical, political and physical factors. Children must sort out these factors and learn how they interact.

Related Literature

According to the study on Skin Color Bias is Growing as a Basis for Discrimination Claims, Vice-Chair Naomi Earp of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Retrieval date: October 10, 2012. Complaints of color discrimination go both ways, although more complaints are brought by individuals with darker skin than those with lighter skin. Skin tone bias is not unique among people of color; whites also can equate darker skin with a "negative cultural stereotype."
Color bias is difficult to categorize, and it is often viewed as another form of race discrimination. Discriminatory treatment based on skin color also may be attributed to ethnic heritage and race. For this reason, color bias complaints are seen less frequently than the more typical race discrimination claims, but as noted above, the numbers are increasing.
As with all other forms of discrimination, people may be reluctant to come forward with skin tone complaints. For one thing, many people are confused as to whether such discrimination is even against the law. Proving a case of skin tone discrimination may be difficult since, like the government, most employers do not maintain data on employees' skin color. So, for example, an employee would not have the statistical evidence to support a claim that a company was promoting more light skinned workers than dark skinned employees. Also, similar to age and disability factors, there is often an overlap between protected groups, making proof of discriminatory treatment based on skin color more difficult to show.
According to the study of Joni Hersch, Retrieval date: August 10, 2012. There are considerable racial disparities in economic outcomes and health, as well as evidence that these effects of race differ by skin tone, with darker skin tone associated with inferior economic outcomes and higher blood pressure. Using data from three sources, person with lighter skin tone have higher educational attainment than those with darker skin tone. The perception that there is differential treatment on the basis of skin tone is more pronounced than the observed disparities. It is commonly assumed that white skinned person receive preferential treatment over darker skinned counterparts. Using individual data from three sources, this paper examines the influence of skin tone on education and on their socio economic status. Whiter skin tone has a consistent positive impact on educational attainment but generally does not influence wages. Possible mechanisms by which skin tone differences might influence economic outcomes are investigated, including measurement error, perceived attractiveness, access to integrated schools or work groups, perceived discrimination, and genetic differences. This paper examines the relation between observer-ratings of attractiveness and skin tone, weight, and height, and provides evidence on whether these physical characteristics affect the likelihood that individuals report discriminatory treatment in a variety of contexts. African Americans with lighter color, and white men with darker color, are rated as more attractive, as are taller men and both men and women of normal weight. Although a vast literature indicates that physical appearance influences how one is treated, there is little evidence that perceived discriminatory treatment is related to physical characteristics such as attractiveness, weight, or height. An exception is for African Americans with lighter skin color who report less discriminatory treatment in daily activities and on the basis of color.

Theoretical Framework
According to the theory of Richard Langton Gregory the theory of Visual Perception, in order to receive information from the environment we are equipped with sense organs e.g. eye, ear, and nose. Each sense organ is part of a sensory system which receives sensory inputs and transmits sensory information to the brain.
A particular problem for psychologists is to explain the process by which the physical energy received by sense organs forms the basis of perceptual experience. Sensory inputs are somehow converted into perceptions of desks and computers, flowers and buildings, cars and planes; into sights, sounds, smells, taste and touch experiences.
A major theoretical issue on which psychologists are divided is the extent to which perception relies directly on the information present in the stimulus. Some argue that perceptual processes are not direct, but depend on the perceiver's expectations and previous knowledge as well as the information available in the stimulus itself.
Psychologists distinguish between two types of processes in perception: bottom-up processing and top-down processing.
Bottom-up processing is also known as data-driven processing, because perception begins with the stimulus itself. Processing is carried out in one direction from the retina to the visual cortex, with each successive stage in the visual pathway carrying out ever more complex analysis of the input.
Top-down processing refers to the use of contextual information in pattern recognition. For This is because the meaning of the surrounding word provides a context to aid understanding.

Conceptual Framework
This Figure shows the perception of a child towards the person’s skin color

HOW DOES SKIN COLOR AFFECTS THE CHILD’S PERCEPTION TOWARDS A PERSON

Barbie Doll Test

Visual Perception Theory

Perception of the child toward the person’s skin color Brown
Skin Color

Black
Skin Color

White
Skin Color

Figure 1: The research Paradigm The figure shows that the researchers intended to know the perceptions of a child toward races by the use of Barbie doll test. It is shown that theory that the researchers used will be able to explain more about the relationship of the theory of visual perception to the research study, the Barbie doll test, and thus will give the researcher an idea in their chosen topic. Statement of the Problem We, the researchers sought to find the answers to the following questions: 1. The frequency of the positive qualities of * Doll A * Doll B * Doll C 2. The frequency of the negative qualities of * Doll A * Doll B * Doll C a.)Do children find white skin colored people much attractive than the black and brown skin colored people? b.)What comes into the children’s mind when they see a black skin colored people? Hypotheses A. If a person has black skin color, then children’s perception is negative. B. If a person has white skin color, then children’s perception is positive. C. If a person has light skin color, then children’s perception Significance of the study
This study wants to give a distinct picture about the perception of children on person’s skin color mainly whether if the person has good or bad characteristics. Theoretically, children are very perceptive in making judgments especially when they are going to think about their impression to other people.
This will help the other researchers in having an idea on how a child sees a person and make judgments to a person who has a black, fair or white skin color.

Scope and Limitation This researchers’ study focuses on how skin color affects a child’s perception towards a person. The subjects of this study are preschoolers of St. Paul University Quezon City. The gathering of data will be done by asking them questions and be answered by choosing a doll based on their perception. Since the study will be using the dolls, the researchers are limiting the complexion of the doll’s skin to white, brown and light.

Definition of Terms 1. Skin complexion- the natural color, texture, and appearance of the skin 2. Perception- recognition and interpretation of sensory stimuli based chiefly on memory.
Operational Definition The researchers would want to find out if the child’s perception towards a person’s light skin color is good. In this research study the dependent variable is the perception of the child. Its operational definition is the perception of the child towards the person’s skin color. This is further explained by the number of times that a child will choose the white doll for the positive things that we are going to ask the child.

Chapter II
Method

Research Design
The research design appropriate for this study is the One Independent Variable which is within subject Design. The independent variable is the Barbie doll which will serve as a basis of the children's perception about a person's skin color. The conduction of experiment will be in group and the children will be the experimental group. The extraneous variable will be about the children's behavior while they are in the room and their perceptions or consciousness about the skin color that they have. We will place 3 dolls with different skin colors on the table and we will be going to ask some questions about on what skin color they prefer. Through that we will gather all of their answers based on what they perceive towards the doll’s skin color.

Participants: The study is designed to know how children ages 4-6 years old perceive a person’s characteristics or traits depending on their skin color. The researchers will randomly select 5 boys and 5 girls belonging in the said age group.
We are going to get 10 preschool students, 5 girls and 5 boys and we will ask them questions about on what they perceives on the person’s skin color.

Instruments The instrument that researchers intended to use to know the child’s perception towards a person’s skin color is a checklist questionnaire it is a list of questions or, usually on a printed form, to be answered by an individual. The forms often have blank spaces in which the answers can be written. Sets of such forms are distributed to groups and the answers used for various purposes, such as to obtain statistical information for social science, political, or marketing research, or to obtain information about a patient for the use of medical practitioners.

| DOLL A(White) | DOLL B(Brown) | DOLL C(Light) | 1. Which doll is the most beautiful? | | | | 2. Which is the Ugliest doll? | | | | 3. Which doll looks neat? | | | | 4. Which doll looks messy? | | | | 5. Which is the less attractive doll? | | | | 6. Which is the most attractive doll? | | | | 7. Which looks like a rich doll? | | | | 8. Which looks like a poor doll? | | | |

Data Gathering In order to collect the data needed for the experiment the researchers would therefore conduct an interview to know the participants especially the individual whom the researchers will observe and in order to get the basic information about them. Then, the actual experiment for the individual will be conducted. The researchers will observe on how the child going to respond in our questions to them with regard to their perception towards a person’s skin color. The researchers will check and observe the child’s answer for every question. After that, the assessment using the checklist we will ask questions to the child and they will going to check their answers to the questionnaire that we are going to give them, in this test there will be verification and interpreting of the experiment that had taken place.

Data Analysis The researcher will use t-test for independent samples because the objective of our study is to evaluate two sets of quantitative data and this is the perception of boys and girls about the person’s skin color. The researchers want to know if there is a difference in the perception of boys from the girls about one’s skin color.

Procedure
These are the steps that we are going to do in conducting our experiment. 1. The researchers will randomly select a group composed of 5 boy and 5 girls. 2. The researchers will assign the participants to A and B. 3. The researchers will show the dolls to the participants. 4. Each participant will be given a questionnaire by the researchers. 5. The researcher will ask the questions about research and we will guide them on how to answer their questionnaire.

Chapter III
Data and Results | WHITE | BROWN | LIGHT | 1. Which doll is the most beautiful? | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2. Which doll is the ugliest doll? | 0 | 7 | 3 | 3. Which doll looks neat? | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4. Which doll looks messy? | 0 | 9 | 1 | 5. Which is the less attractive doll? | 0 | 6 | 4 | 6. Which is the most attractive doll? | 5 | 3 | 1 | 7. Which is the rich doll? | 8 | 1 | 1 | 8. Which looks like a poor doll? | 0 | 10 | 0 | | 30 | 36 | 13 |

This study sets out to study the perception of the child towards a person’s skin color. The first research question was “Which doll is the most beautiful doll?” This occupies the perception of the child towards the person’s physical appearance. In this question, all of the participants answered that the white doll is the most beautiful doll for them. The first question scored 10 out of 10. In question number two “Which doll is the ugliest doll?” the brown doll received the highest score of 7 out of 10. The third research question “Which doll looks neat?” the white doll received the highest score of 7 out of 10. The fourth question “Which doll looks messy?” the brown doll received the highest score with 9 out of 10. The fifth question “Which doll is less attractive doll?” the brown doll received the highest score with 6 out of 10. The sixth question “Which doll is the most attractive doll?” the white doll received the highest score with 5 out of 10. The seventh question “Which is the rich doll?” the white doll scored the highest with 8 out of 10. The eighth question “Which is the poor doll?” the brown doll received the highest score with 10 out of 10.

Discussions
In question number 1, white skin colored doll got the highest score for the question “. Which doll is the most beautiful?” and the brown skin colored doll got the lowest score from our participants and they don’t have any response for the light skin colored doll. In question number 2, the white skin colored doll got the highest score for the question “Which doll is the ugliest doll?” the black skin colored doll got the highest score and the light skin colored doll got the lowest score and the white skin colored doll got no response from the participants. With the doll that received the highest score in the question “Which doll looks neat?” is the white skin colored doll and the light skin colored doll got the lowest score and no response for the brown skin colored doll. The brown skin colored doll got the highest score in the question “Which doll looks messy?” and the light and white skin colored doll don’t received any response from our participants. In the question number 5, “Which is the less attractive doll? “The black skin colored doll received the highest score and the light skin colored doll received the lowest score while the white skin colored doll got no response. The question number 6, “Which is the most attractive doll?” the brown skin colored doll has received the highest score and the light skin colored doll got the lowest score whereas the white skin colored doll got no response at all. In question number 7, “Which is the rich doll?” the white skin colored received the highest score and for the light and brown skin colored doll received the same score. Lastly, for the question number 8 “Which looks like a poor doll?” the brown skin colored doll received the highest score while for the light and white skin colored got no response from the participants
The result shows that the white skin colored doll received the highest score in positive quality based on the physical appearance and socio economic status. The brown skin colored doll received the lowest score in negative quality based physical appearance and socio economic status. With the light skin colored doll received a fair judgment among our respondents.
Their perception might be affected by the doll’s dress, hair and their noisy classmates.
According to the study of Joni Hersch on Skin Tone Effects among African Americans: Perceptions and Reality. The perception that there is differential treatment on the basis of skin tone is more pronounced than the observed disparities. It is commonly assumed that white skinned person receive preferential treatment over darker skinned counterparts. It shows that if the person’s skin color is white they received a positive treatment from people. The person who has a brown skin color will have a negative perception towards their society. Regarding the a person who has a light skin color, they are able to received a normal treatment from their surroundings.

Chapter IV
Summary
The doll A (White) got the highest positive quality based on physical appearance and socio economic status. Doll B (Brown) received the highest negative quality based on physical appearance and socio economic status. Doll C (Light) received an average score and it is somehow that Doll C is not noticed by the participants.

Conclusion From the experiment conducted data gathered and the researchers found out that the Doll A which is the white skin colored doll is the one that the children percepts to have a positive quality with regards to their physical appearance and socio economic status. In their impression, it is Doll A which is the doll that impress them the most. On the other hand, Doll B which is the brown skin colored doll is the one that children percepts to have a negative quality in terms of their physical appearance and socio economic status. With the light skin colored doll it is given an average perception by the child.

Recommendation The researchers consequently recommend that the parents should talk to their child on how will they going to interact and make their judgments to people.
The students must to know not to be racist and not to evaluate person base on their skin color. The readers of our research study for them not to base on the physical appearance and socio economic status of a person.
For the future researchers who wanted to study and conduct a research on this.

References:
Lewis, J (2004). Skin Color Bias is growing as a Basis for Discrimination Claims. Retrieval date: October 10, 2012, from http://www.jacksonlewis.com/resources.php?NewsID=562
Hersch, J (2006) Skin Tone Effects among African Americans: Perceptions and Reality. Discussion Paper No. 545.
Patcher, L., Bernstein, B., and et. al. (2008) Perceived Racism and Discrimination in Children and Youths: An Exploratory Study. Volume 35, Issue 1, 61-69. Retrieved May 19, 2009, from http://hsw.oxfordjournals.org/content/35/1/61.abstract
McLeod, S. (2007) Visual Perception Theory.
Kihlstrom, J. (2003) Foundations of Social Cognition: Lecture Supplements for Social Cognition. Retrieved April 26, 2010
York, D (2012) The Image Is Not In The Eye of The Beholder. PSA Journal, 78.1