In a new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers
asked college students and police officers to estimate the ages of young
children who they were told had committed a crime (both misdemeanors and
felonies). In both groups, respondents were far more likely to overestimate the
ages of young black boys than young white boys; they were also less likely to
view black children as innocent.
“Children in most societies are considered to be in a distinct group with
characteristics such as innocence and the need for protection,” study author and
professor of psychology at UCLA Phillip Atiba Goff said of the study. “Our
research found that black boys can be seen as responsible for their actions at
an age when white boys still benefit from the assumption that children are
essentially innocent.”
Read the rest of the article for Salon Magazine here.
Full study available here.
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