blue eyes brown eyes experiment ethical issues

Professor Jane Elliott performed a group experiment with her students that they would never forget. In Zimbardo's experiment the conditions were much more controlled for later study but the r. You have the right color eyes!. The brown-eyed children could take off their armbands and give them to the blue-eyed children, who were now taught that they were inferior to the brown-eyed children. one girl asked. Thats what it feels like when youre discriminated against., -A child participant in the Blue Eyes-Brown Eyes experiment-. The "invisible knapsack" is an analogy for a set of invisible and not widely talked about privileges that white people possess in the society. "It changed my life. She noticed that student relationships had changed; even if students were friendly outside of the exercise, they treated each other with arrogance or bossiness once the roles were assigned. It makes you proud. Why was the Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes Experiment considered unethical in psychology? Focusing on ethics the experiment violated some of the principles and codes of conduct established by the American Psychological Association. . About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . This bibliography was generated on Cite This For Me on Monday, March 7, 2016. She has appeared on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" five times. Want a quality guarantee? All the work should be used in accordance with the appropriate policies and applicable laws. In this photograph from Sept. 13, 1965, Black children on their way to school in New York City pass by segregationists protesting integrated busing. The anti-racism sessions Elliott led were intense. That says very plainly that you know whats happening, you know you dont want it for you. Proceeding with the experiment, Elliot divided the children into two groups each with nine pupils. In 2001, she was still trying to make a change. Throughout the investigation, the classroom represented a real-life scenario in which the unprivileged and minority members of the society are treated as out-groups making them susceptible to discrimination. The experiment known as Blue Eyes Brown Eyes experiment is regarded as an eye-opening way for children to learn about racism and discrimination. ", A former teacher, Ruth Setka, 79, said she was perhaps the only teacher who would still talk to Elliott. Weve been here before, with unsettling and disturbing results. See Page 1. Is your time best spent reading someone elses essay? ", "I've never forgotten the exercise," Whisenhunt volunteered. She asked them if they would like to experience what it felt like to be in a person of colors shoes. Sign up for Politics Weekly.]. Kors writes that Elliott's exercise taught "blood-guilt and self-contempt to whites," adding that "in her view, nothing has changed in America since the collapse of Reconstruction." She described to her colleagues what she'd done, remarking how several of her slower kids with brown eyes had transformed themselves into confident leaders of the class. The brown-eyed students also exercised a certain level of power over the blue-eyed students when they put the armbands on them. . The second day, Elliott reversed the groups. Exploring your mind Blog about psychology and philosophy. Melanin, she said, is what causes intelligence. When Elliott conducted the exercise the next year, she added something extra to collect data. Not a day goes by without me thinking about it, Ms. Elliott. She has spoken at more than 350 colleges and universities. Elliott split her students into two groups, based on eye color. The kids in the bottom group became timider and kept to themselves. You should be happy! Students in the inferior groups were more likely to get a worse score. "How do you think it would feel to be a Negro boy or girl?" They needed not acknowledge their privilege or reflect on it. The results showed a reversal effect in which the blue-eyed students showed signs of inferiority and low self-esteem. ", When I met Elliott in 2003, she hadn't been back to Riceville in 12 years. The Hangout Bar & Grill, the Riceville Pharmacy and ATouch of Dutch, a restaurant owned by Mennonites, line Main Street. Given the ethical concerns, will you still rely on a quasi-experimental research design as a source of information in counselling psychology? The same experiment was also used a couple of years later with adults. You give them something nice and they just wreck it." Jane Elliott, one of the most controversial figures in U.S. education and diversity training, began her journey to international acclaim in Riceville, Iowa. When you read about this experiment, its hard not to question labels. Blue Eyed versus Brown Eyed Students Jane Elliott was not a psychologist, but she developed one of the most famously controversial exercises in 1968 by dividing students into a blue-eyed group and . Separate the class into two halves - those with blue eyes and those with brown. Elliott was even brought on The Tonight Show to talk about her experiences. I think it can. The smell of the crops and loam and topsoil and manure wafted though the open door. SpeedyPaper website, please click below to request its removal: Liked this essay sample but need an original one? The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 prompted educator Jane Elliott to create the now-famous "blue eyes/brown eyes exercise ." As a school teacher in the small town of Riceville, Iowa, Elliott first conducted the anti-racism experiment on her all-white third-grade classroom, the day after the civil rights leader was killed. The episode features with new footage of the students, who are now adults. And the exercise continued in a similar fashion to how it was executed the day before. From the University of California Press website: The never-before-told true story of Jane Elliott and the "Blue-Eyes, Brown-Eyes Experiment" she made world-famous, using eye color to simulate racism. The story was then picked up by the Associated Press. "Hey, Mrs. Elliott," Steven yelled as he slung his books on his desk. The next day when the tables were turned, "I felt like quitting school. ", Dean Weaver, 70, superintendent of Riceville schools from 1972 to 1979, said, "She'd just go ahead and do things. To begin with, Jane Elliot's experiment involved deception in which the children were made in believing that change in eye color influence intelligence. "If this ugly change, if this negative change can happen this quickly, why can't positive change happen that quickly? On the other hand, privileged members of the community are treated as in-groups which earn them undue respect and capacity to abuse the less advantaged. This way, she successfully created two distinct groups in her classroom: The consequences of the minimal group became evident very quickly. Blue-eyed students suggested that the teacher use a yardstick to discipline brown-eyed students that misbehaved. Researchers later concluded that there was evidence that the students became less prejudiced after the study and that it was inconclusive as to whether or not the potential harm outweighed the benefits of the exercise. The brown-eyed children felt suddenly that they were discriminated, while the blue eyed started seeing them as inferior. How can put those little children through that exercise for a day? And they seem unable to relate the sympathy that theyre feeling for these little white children for a day to what happens to children of color in this society for a lifetime or to the fact that they are doing this to children based on skin color every day. The first thing that Jane Elliott did was divide the children into groups: those with blue eyes and those with brown eyes. On the "Tonight Show" Carson broke the ice by spoofing Elliott's rural roots. They are steeped in centuries of economic deprivation and cultural appropriation. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. She then told them that the children with blue eyes were inherently inferior to the children with brown . Jane Elliott's Blue-Eyed versus Brown-Eyed Students experiment was conducted to determine whether racism was a learned characteristic. I felt mad. Now, almost four decades later, Elliott's experiment still mattersto the grown children with whom she experimented, to the people of Riceville, population 840, who all but ran her out of town, and to thousands of people around the world who have also participated in an exercise based on the experiment. The results are mixed. The ethical concerns arising from the experiment are consent and deception. "The racists carry on, so I carry on." The lives and legacies of Dr. Jane Elliott and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are inextricably linked. Outside, rows of corn stretched to the horizon. ", Absolutely not. She continued to conduct the exercise with her third graders. But Paul, one of eight siblings and the son of a dairy farmer, didnt buy Elliotts mollification. She told her students that she had made a mistake the previous day and that brown-eyed students . Back in the classroom, Elliott's experiment had taken on a life of its own. Its goal was to demonstrate what prejudice was to her third grade class. The basic idea was to separate the class into two halves, students with blue eyes and those with brown. In 1968 after Martin Luther King was assassinated the United States was in turmoil. To get her points across, Elliott hurled insults at workshop participants, particularly those who were white and had blue eyes. Classroom experiment. Two students even got into a physical altercation. All 28 children found their desks, and Elliott said she had something special for them to do, to begin to understand the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. the day before. She told them that people with brown eyes were superior to those with blue eyes, for reasons she made up. Its not surprising to anyone that some social groups discriminate against others due to ethnicity, religion, or culture. The blue-eyed girl apologized. All rights reserved. Order from one of our vetted writers instead, First name should have at least 2 letters, Phone number should have at least 10 digits, Free Essay with a Response to Cross Words by UIW President Louis Agnese, How Does Donald Duk View His Chinese Heritage? ", That spring morning 37 years ago, the blue-eyed children were set apart from the children with brown or green eyes. The Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes Experiment. "Brown-eyed people have more of that chemical in their eyes, so brown-eyed people are better than those with blue eyes," Elliott said. Elliott was featured on nearly every national news show in America for decades. Answer (1 of 3): My guess is that is doesn't really represent racism but classism. Theyd have to use paper cups if they drank from the water fountain. "It would be hard to know, wouldn't it, unless we actually experienced discrimination ourselves. The fourth of five children, Elliott was born on her family's farm in Riceville in 1933, and was delivered by her Irish-American father himself. The brown-eyed children began to act aggressive and mean towards the blue-eyed children. Everyone looked at Mrs. Elliott. That spring morning 37 years ago, the blue-eyed children were set apart from the children with brown or green eyes. Youve probably heard different versions of it. On the first day, the blue-eyed students were informed that they were genetically inferior to the brown-eyed students. It is a must . Yes, that day was tough. Cookie Settings, Kids Start Forgetting Early Childhood Around Age 7, Archaeologists Discover Wooden Spikes Described by Julius Caesar, Artificial Sweetener Tied to Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke, Study Finds, Rare Jurassic-Era Insect Discovered at Arkansas Walmart. Sorry, but it's not possible to copy the text due to security reasons. Elliott turned into Americas mother of diversity training. The following are some of her most insightful quotes on these issues. Jane Elliott, an educator and anti-racism activist, first conducted her blue eyes/brown eyes exercise in her third-grade classroom in Iowa in 1968. a brown-eyed boy asked. The day after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination in 1968, Jane Elliott, a schoolteacher in rural Iowa, introduced to her all-white third-grade class a shocking . The roots of racism and why it continues unabated in America and other nations are complicated and gnarled. One of the ways Hitler decided who went into the gas chamber was eye color, Elliott said in a later speech. She gave the blue-eyed students an armband so other students could more easily identify them, and then she told her class that it was a scientific fact that people with brown eyes are smarter than those with blue because their bodies had more . Elliott was shocked by the results and decided to switch the roles the following day. "Your son got what he deserved," the woman said. Jane Elliott's Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes experiment was a turning point in social psychology. In a similar vein, Linda Seebach, a conservative columnist for the Rocky Mountain News, wrote in 2004 that Elliott was a "disgrace" and described her exercise as "sadistic," adding, "You would think that any normal person would realize that she had done an evil thing. Problems with this research were that it went against a lot of ethical issues. The brown-eyed people were told to step to the front of the line. Brown-eyed people. ", Elliott replied, "Why are we so worried about the fragile egos of white children who experience a couple of hours of made-up racism one day when blacks experience real racism every day of their lives?". Keep me from judging a man until I have walked a mile in his moccasins. This is a Sioux saying. As the morning wore on, brown-eyed kids berated their blue-eyed classmates. On Friday, April 5, 1968, in Riceville, IA, a third-grade student walked . On the first day of the two-day experiment, Elliott told the . In the 60s, the United States was in the midst of a social race crisis. Was The Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Experiment Ethical? The day after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination in 1968, Jane Elliott, a schoolteacher in rural Iowa, introduced to her all-white third-grade class a shocking experiment to demonstrate . "We give our children shots to inoculate them against polio and smallpox, to protect them against the realities in the future. Would you like to get this essay by email? ", For years scholars have evaluated Elliott's exercise, seeking to determine if it reduces racial prejudice in participants or poses a psychological risk to them. She had never met me, and she accused me in front of everyone of using my sexuality to get ahead.. Why'd they shoot that King?" If you are the original author of this essay and no longer wish to have it published on the All rights reserved. (2010). [White people] on the other hand, don't have to understand them. The experiment was to be a division of eye colour starting with blue eyed student having superiority and then the following day, the roles would be reversed. It was the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968 that Elliott ran her first "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" exercise in her Riceville, Iowa classroom. Jane Elliott, an educator and anti-racism activist, first conducted her blue eyes/brown eyes exercise in her third-grade classroom in Iowa in 1968. ABC broadcast a documentary about her work. You didnt understand the directions. Written and verified by the psychologist Francisco Roballo. Biddle, B. J. This technique allows researchers to show how many different traits are necessary to create defined groups, and then analyze the subjects behavior within their groups. She said she watched and was horrified at what she saw. Jane Elliot and the Blue-Eyed Children Experiment. "We are repeating the blue-eyed/brown-eyed exercise on a daily basis.". For many, the experiment went horribly awry. Later, it would occur to Elliott that the blueys were much less nasty than the brown-eyed kids had been, perhaps because the blue-eyed kids had felt the sting of being ostracized and didn't want to inflict it on their former tormentors. Yet what Elliott did continues to stir controversy. (2022, Apr 06). One group consisted pupils with brown eye while the other group consisted of those with blue eyes. She was 10 before the farmhouse had running water and electricity. ", Then, the inevitable: "Hey, Mrs. Elliott, how come you're the teacher if you've got blue eyes?" The blue-eyed children were told not to do their homework because, even if they answered all the questions, theyd probably forget to bring the assignment back to class. Mary and Zeke have three children, all of whom have blue eyes. On the first day of the experiment, Elliott told the children who had blue eyes that they were superior to the children with brown eyes; that they were better, nicer and smarter. Blue-eyed children got five extra minutes of recess. Withdrawn brown-eyed kids were suddenly outgoing, some beaming with the widest smiles she had ever seen on them. Things even got violent at recess. In the brown eyed/blue eyed experiment Jane Elliot told her third graders with blue eyes that they were better than the brown-eyed children. The blue eyes brown eyes study was a study on group prejudice and discrimination conducted by Jane Elliot. You've still got that same sweet smile. And our number two freedom is the freedom to deny that were ignorant., I want every white person in this room who would be happy to be treated as this society in general treats our citizens, our black citizens, if you, as a white person, would be happy to receive the same treatment that our black citizens do in this society, please stand. Everyone's tired of her. Lasting Impact of Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Experiment, Words are the most powerful weapon devised by humankind. "It's the same thing over and over again," Cross says. As a school teacher in the small town of Riceville, Iowa, Elliott first conducted the anti-racism experiment on her all-white third-grade classroom, the day after the civil rights leader was killed. At the time, she was a third-grade . To most people, it seemed to suggest that racism could be reduced, even eliminated, by a one- or two-day exercise. Privacy Statement Today, increased migration means more opportunities for people from different backgrounds to interact with each other, which is often a source of conflict. When the blue-eyed group saw that the brown-eyed group was going to be seated first, some became upset. According to the article is Jane Elliot's experiment to small degree effective. You must get the parents first. Elliott, who is white, separated the students into two groupsthose with blue eyes and those with brown eyes. To this day, at the age of 86, Jane Elliott continues this work. Many critics that the children were too young to understand the exercise. Elliott said that blue-eyed people were less intelligent and less clean. The Blue Eyes Brown Eyes exercise received national attention shortly after it ended.

United Aviate Academy Phone Number, Articles B