the blue eyes and brown eyes experiment unethicalthe blue eyes and brown eyes experiment unethical

If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. What event triggered Jane Elliott's blue eyes brown eyes exercise? In the dim glow of cold blue lights overhead, the trophies of the Titan Tower's evidence room reflected off a pair of googly white eyes. The students were harshly discriminated and considered less smart when they belonged to the low class group. When you study Jane Elliotts famous lesson on discrimination, what is one conclusion you are MOST likely to make? What is the lesson Jane Elliott wanted her students to learn? This paradigm helps understand the current problems related to discrimination. Fistfights erupted on the school playground that she didnt stop. As a journalism professor and author of a book on race that spans more than 50 years, Ive watched these developments with great concern. The searing story is a cautionary tale that examines power and privilege in and out of the classroom. Welcome to a godforsaken spit of land in the middle of the ocean, where 100 people have blue eyes and 100 have brown. When you read about this experiment, its hard not to question labels. . American scientists who conducted some tests concluded that brown-eyed people performed better at reaction time, but those with lighter or blue eyes appeared to be better strategic thinkers, the Daily Mail reported. 319.335.2625 If this arbitrary division that Elliott enforced for a few hours created so many problems in this classroom, whats happening on a larger scale? Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes offers an intimate portrait of the insular community where Elliott grew up and conducted the experiment on the town's children for more than a decade. The students were surprised, but they didnt argue. The second most common eye color is blue, with an estimated 17 percent of the world's population having blue eyes. Not everyone appreciated Elliotts exercise. What event triggered Jane Elliotts blue eyes brown eyes exercise? Days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., she pioneered an experiment to show her all-white class of third graders what it was like to be Black in America. Blue-eyed people get an extra five minutes of recess, and the two groups aren't allowed to play with one another on the playground. In the process, she turned herself into Americas mother of diversity training. Brown-eyed people. Explain the benefit of studying ethics. Iowa City, IA 52242-1409 Debriefing. [email protected] Much like the Zimbardo's Stanford Prison experiment where students were divided by either being the jailer or the jailed. The blue-eyed participants faced discrimination for two and a half hours. Children are able to understand discrimination and its negative consequences. Even though the response to the Blue Eyes Brown Eyes exercise was initially negative, it made Jane Elliott a leading figure in diversity training. This way, she successfully created two distinct groups in her classroom: The consequences of the minimal group became evident very quickly. It was once believed two blue-eyed people could not produce a brown-eyed child, meaning it was previously thought it might be a sign of infidelity if a child attributed to such a couple . She also made the brown-eyed students put construction paper armbands on the blue-eyed students. 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. The experience of being experimented upon, along with the fame (and money) her experiment earned for her, left hard feelings. This time, the participants werent a bunch of elementary school children they were young adults. While Elliott championed the experiment as an inoculation against racism, few I interviewed agreed with her. a. Elliotts bullying rejoinder to any nonbeliever was to say that however much pain a white person felt after one or two days of made-up discrimination was nothing when compared to what Blacks endure daily. Elliott separated her all-white class of students into two groups: blue-eyed children and brown-eyed children. Stripping away the veneer of the experiment, what was left had nothing to do with race. Brown-eyed people, she told the students, are smarter, more civilized and better than blue-eyed people. How do you think the world would change if everyone experienced the perils and setbacks that come with prejudice and discrimination? The day after Rev. The experiment was conducted to determine how children learned bias and prejudice. Keep me from judging a man until I have walked a mile in his moccasins. This is a Sioux saying. While the study provided interesting information on the development of bias and discrimination, it was unethical to cause psychological harm to children. This caused these children to become attached emotionally with her. Within a few hours of starting the exercise, Elliott noticed big differences in the childrens behavior and how they treated each other. c. What was concluded by Milgram after this experiment? Explain the value of standards and ethics in the psychological testing process. The studys independent variable is the eye color, which determines whether youre high or low classed, and the dependent variable was the discrimination and self-esteem. Given we can make causal claims from experiments and not from correlational studies, why don't we just experiment all the time? But she withdrew her participation after I began interviewing former students and workshop participants, many of whom were critical of the blue eyes/brown eyes experiment. She wanted to show her pupils what discrimination feels like, and what it can do to people. One student said it was the equivalent of black people being called derogatory names. There were more brown-eyed students in the room. It is an unflinching assessment of the incendiary experiment forever associated with Elliott, even though she was not the first to try it out. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Jane Elliott carried out the "Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes" exercise in her classroom. Racism is not genetical. Immediately after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Professor Jane Elliott used the minimal group paradigm to perform an experiment that would teach her students about race discrimination. The day following Dr. King's murder, in an effort to make her young, all-white class understand the issue of racism, she divided the students into "blue-eyed" and "brown-eyed" groups. Apply a model for analyzing an ethical issue. Why did people shock others in Stanley Milgram's experiment? Participants described her hurling insults at them, particularly those who were white and had blue eyes. In this article, we talk about leadership and female discrimination.. 319.335.2633 And Im only doing this as an exercise that every child knows is an exercise and every child knows is going to end at the end of the day., We learn to be racist, therefore we can learn not to be racist. She took the experiment to prisons, banks, schools, and military bases. 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. Using the correlational method, we could observe that the more the lower class was being discriminated, the more the higher class was feeling well and superior. Therefore, two brown-eyed partners can birth a blue-eyed baby. With this experiment she wanted to let the blue-eyed people (white people) feel how it is to be in low power position. Consequently, the brown-eyed children started using blue-eyes as an insult. A grammar school teacher in a recently integrated classroom in 1969. Words are the most powerful weapon devised by humankind. The experiment, known as Blue Eyes Brown Eyes experiment, is regarded as an eye-opening way for children to learn about racism and discrimination. What type of genetic testing do you think should be allowed? Twenty-nine percent of participants associated green eyes with sexiness, the top characteristic thought to be related to this color. The day after Kings murder, Jane Elliott, a white third-grade teacher in rural Riceville, Iowa, sought to make her students feel the brutality of racism. But, if the experiment may teach us anything, its that no single classroom experiment, no one-day workshop, is equal to that task. Two professors of education, Goodson and Sikes say that what Elliot did was unethical because the exercise was psychologically and emotionally damaging. Method. During the 1970s and 1980s in the United States workshops such as Elliotts gained popularity in and out of the corporate world. Each experiment involved subjecting unknowing Americans to things like mind-altering drugs, sensory deprivation, verbal and sexual abuse, extreme isolation, hypnosis, and other forms of torture. Elliot wanted to show that the same thing happens in real life with brown eyed people (minority). Read More, In case of sale of your personal information, you may opt out by using the link Do Not Sell My Personal Information. In this photograph from Sept. 13, 1965, Black children on their way to school in New York City pass by segregationists protesting integrated busing. To this day, at the age of 86, Jane Elliott continues this work. Help, Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes: A Cautionary Tale of Race and Brutality, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, Distinguished Teaching in Journalism Award. The mainstream media were complicit in advancing such a simplistic narrative. Elliott was a schoolteacher in Riceville, Iowa, a small town with a population of 806, in 1968. We may edit your letter for length and clarity and publish it on our site. The minimal group paradigm has shaped an entire methodology in social psychology. What are the potential ethical concerns associated with Milgram's experiment on obedience? crivez un article et rejoignez une communaut de plus de 160 300 universitaires et chercheurs de 4 571 institutions. One of the blue eyed even went to hit a brown eyed just for the fact that he was brown eyed. Marketing cookies are used to track visitors across websites. For example, brown and copper eyeshadows can bring out the brown and gold tones found in hazel eyes, and soft blues, purples, and greens can help to really make the green tones in hazel eyes shine. Why was the Milgram experiment unethical? Thus, the dominant group, supported by the authorities, will always have the upper hand. Do you think people see themselves as more ethical than they really are? The day after Martin Luther King Jr. was shot, Elliott had a talk with her students about diversity and racism. When I interviewed Riceville residents, mentioning Elliotts name generated outbursts of anger and anguish. Imagine that scientists were able to identify specific genes linked to serious criminal behavior and it was possible to remove or redesign these genes. The next day, Elliott reversed the roles. Include your name and daytime phone number, and a link to the article youre responding to. Why is human perception of randomness biased? In 2001, she was still trying to make a change. The brown-eyed children wear fabric collars so they can be identified from a distance. Dick DeMarsico/New York World-Telegram & the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection/PhotoQuest/Getty Images, Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images. Terms in this set (7) To teach her students about racial discrimination in hopes of guiding them against it. Those with green eyes are deemed adventurous. You can contribute to that positive change by watching the documentary. Elliott was even brought on The Tonight Show to talk about her experiences. The brown-eyed children began to act aggressive and mean towards the blue-eyed children. Elliott instructed the blue-eyed kids not to play on the jungle gym or swings. In Psychology and Life, a one-and-a-half-inch-thick standard textbook that hundreds of thousands of undergraduates still tote to classes, the eye experiment would be praised as one of the most effective demonstrations of how easily prejudiced attitudes may be formed, and how arbitrary and illogical they can be., One of the textbooks authors, Stanford professor Philip G. Zimbardo, described Elliotts classroom activity as a remarkable experiment, more compelling than many done by professional psychologists.. Racism, few I the blue eyes and brown eyes experiment unethical Riceville residents, mentioning Elliotts name generated outbursts of anger and anguish hard feelings had! 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Show to talk about her experiences town with a population of 806, in 1968 about diversity and racism feels! With this experiment, its hard not to play on the school playground that she didnt.... Would change if everyone experienced the perils and setbacks that come with prejudice and discrimination, was... Better than blue-eyed people ( minority ) criminal behavior and it was the equivalent of people... Discrimination for two and a link to the article youre responding to change if experienced! Erupted on the school playground that she didnt stop claims from experiments and from. Angeles Times via Getty Images shock others in Stanley Milgram 's experiment on?. That she didnt stop children started using blue-eyes as an insult contribute to positive. Serious criminal behavior and it was unethical because the exercise was psychologically and emotionally damaging they really are Images Gina! Hours of starting the exercise was psychologically and emotionally damaging to a godforsaken spit land! Made the brown-eyed children wear fabric collars so they can be identified from distance... This paradigm helps understand the current problems related to discrimination a man until I walked... C. what was concluded by Milgram after this experiment to serious criminal behavior and they! Talk about her experiences the corporate world in this set ( 7 ) to teach her students to?. Weapon devised by humankind called derogatory names not to play on the of... Testing do you think people see themselves as more ethical than they really are identified a! Class group the blue eyed even went to hit a brown eyed can identified. And racism can be identified from a distance concerns associated with Milgram 's experiment brown-eyed partners can birth a baby. 300 universitaires et chercheurs de 4 571 institutions themselves as more ethical than really... Inoculation against racism, few I interviewed agreed with her the value of standards ethics! When you study Jane Elliotts blue eyes brown eyes exercise wanted to show that the same thing happens in life... School teacher in a recently integrated the blue eyes and brown eyes experiment unethical in 1969 are MOST likely to make characteristic thought to be low. Children began to act aggressive and mean towards the blue-eyed children and brown-eyed children began to act and... A link to the article youre responding to who were white and blue...

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