The more melanin, the darker the person's eyesand the smarter the person. Problems with this research were that it went against a lot of ethical issues. Elliotts coworkers avoided her after her appearance on The Tonight Show. In 2001, Jane Elliott recordedThe Angry Eye,in which she revised and updated her experiment. Part of the problem is that the blue-eyed group is exclusively white, while the brown-eyed group is predominantly non-white, so that eye colour is no longer an analogue or metaphor for race but a . "We just want to peek in," I volunteered. ", Walt Gabelmann, 83, was Riceville's mayor for 18 years beginning in 1966. Regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status, decision making in psychology should protect individual rights and welfare to eliminate potential biases. Elliott pulled out green construction paper armbands and asked each of the blue-eyed kids to wear one. New York: Elsevier Science. Two students even got into a physical altercation. 4. The Blue Eye/Brown Eye was an experiment performed by Jane Elliot in 1968 on the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Kids on top would tease the children who were deemed as the inferior group. Elliott started to see her own white privilege, even her own ignorance. She has made statements about the increase in hate crimes and racism in recent years. Would you? It also shows how arbitrary and subjective things can turn friends, family members, and citizens against each other. We dont have to learn about those who are other than white. 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 . Elliott turned into Americas mother of diversity training. But Elliotts experiment had a more sinister impact. 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. She asked the other teachers what they were doing to bring news of the King assassination into their classrooms. Privacy Statement 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. Why was the Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes Experiment considered unethical in psychology? You can start from that point in Activity 2, or you can play the video from the beginning (00:00) so that your students can see civil rights era footage following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as Elliott's students returning to Iowa . In 1970, she demonstrated it for educators at a White House Conference on Children and Youth. At her lunch break that day in the teacher's lounge, she told her colleagues about the exercise. "That you, Ms. . All rights reserved. Mental Sandboxes and Their Usefulness in Today's World, The Law of Reversed Effort: When Taking Action Isn't the Best Option. That might have been the end of it, but a month later, Elliott says, Johnny Carson called her. Little children don't like uproar in the classroom. However, in this classroom, having blue-eyes had become a condition of inferiority. ( 1985-03-26) " A Class Divided " is a 1985 episode of the PBS series Frontline. American Psychological Association, 4. The next day, Jane made it known to the students that she had made a mistake and that the brown-eyed pupils were better and smarter than their counterparts. those with brown eyes (or hazel eyes). You didnt understand the directions. She split the class in two categories, according to eye color, and told the children that one group was superior to the others. In this photograph from Sept. 13, 1965, Black children on their way to school in New York City pass by segregationists protesting integrated busing. Elliott said that blue-eyed people were less intelligent and less clean. The study also violates the American Principles of Psychologist codes of conduct making its replication or further investigation unethical. I felt mad. Words are the most powerful weapon devised by humankind. The secretary on duty looked up, startled, as if she had just seen a ghost. Malinda Whisenhunt? The episode features with new footage of the students, who are now adults. When Elliott first conducted the exercise in 1968, brown-eyed students were given special privileges. ", Vision and tenacity may get results, but they don't always endear a person to her neighbors. Two education professors in England, Ivor F. Goodson and Pat Sikes, suggest that Elliott's experiment was unethical because the participants weren't informed of its real purpose beforehand. The Blue Eyes Brown Eyes exercise is now known as the inspiration for diversity training in the workplace, making Jane Elliott one of the most influential educators in recent American history. Not everyone appreciated Elliotts exercise. The results are mixed. She decided to continue the exercise with her students after lunch. That phrase came to my mind when I watched the video, A Class Divided, about education experiment to teach stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination (Frontline, 1985 . We walked into the principal's office at RicevilleElementary School, Elliott's old haunt. Pasicznyk joined 75 other employees for a training session in the companys suburban Denver headquarters in the late 1980s. 1. "Let me look at you," Elliott said. Blue-eyed children got five extra minutes of recess. Jane Elliot, a third-grade teacher from Lowa town, became troubled with the turn of events and knew that something had to be done about racial discrimination (Danko, 2013). Subsequent research designed to gauge the efficacy of Elliotts attempt at reducing prejudice showed that many participants were shocked by the experiment, but it did nothing to address or explain the root causes of racism. "We give our children shots to inoculate them against polio and smallpox, to protect them against the realities in the future. March 26, 1985. When she separated the class by eye color and announced that blue-eyed children were superior, Paul Bodensteiner objected at every turn. She told her students that she had made a mistake the previous day and that brown-eyed students . Days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Elliott flew to the NBC studio in New York City. More than 50 years after her famous exercise, Elliott is still fighting. Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Would you like to get this essay by email? ", 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?". I felt mad. I felt like hitting them if I wanted to. The experiment, known as Blue Eyes Brown Eyes experiment, is regarded as an eye-opening way for children to learn about racism and discrimination. Thats what it feels like when youre discriminated against., -A child participant in the Blue Eyes-Brown Eyes experiment-. Is your time best spent reading someone elses essay? Elliott had hoped that this experiment would help the children to better understand the feelings of discrimination that certain groups feel on a daily basis, but what she didn . Some residents were furious. Classroom experiment. Elliott asked her students to write about their experiences for the local newspaper. The basic idea was to separate the class into two halves - those with blue eyes and those with brown. Biddle, B. J. She wanted them to understand what discrimination felt like. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . We have to let people find out how it feels to be on the receiving end of that which we dish out so readily.". (Byrnes & Kiger, 1992). Elliott was even brought on The Tonight Show to talk about her experiences. The brown-eyed students also exercised a certain level of power over the blue-eyed students when they put the armbands on them. 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 . She has spoken at more than 350 colleges and universities. This paradigm helps understand the current problems related to discrimination. They are steeped in centuries of economic deprivation and cultural appropriation. Elliott was featured on nearly every national news show in America for decades. Jane Elliott's Blue-Eyed versus Brown-Eyed Students experiment was conducted to determine whether racism was a learned characteristic. She would conduct the exercise for the nine more years she taught the third grade, and the next eight years she taught seventh and eighth graders before giving up teaching in Riceville, in 1985, largely to conduct the eye-color exercise for groups outside the school. At points, you are likely to feel uncomfortable. That same year, Elliott was invited to the White House Conference on Children and Youth to conduct an exercise on adult educators. Practical Psychology began as a collection of study material for psychology students in 2016, created by a student in the field. Blue-eyed students suggested that the teacher use a yardstick to discipline brown-eyed students that misbehaved. The Blue Eyes Brown Eyes exercise received national attention shortly after it ended. Sorry, but it's not possible to copy the text due to security reasons. The Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes Experiment. Was The Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Experiment Ethical? Outside, rows of corn stretched to the horizon. Nobodys standing here. How do you think the world would change if everyone experienced the perils and setbacks that come with prejudice and discrimination? This meeting, along with other clips of the exercises impact on education, is featured in a PBS documentary called A Class Divided. As the morning wore on, brown-eyed kids berated their blue-eyed classmates. The blue-eyed students, when told they were superior and offered privileges such as extra recess time, changed their behavior dramatically and their attitudes toward the children with brown eyes. And what she did caused an uproar. Traditionally, society has always treated leadership as a male issue. You should be happy! "Maybe the way to sell the exercise would have been to invite the parents in, to talk about what she'd be doing. On the first day, the blue-eyed students were informed that they were genetically inferior to the brown-eyed students. Elliot wanted to show that the same thing happens in real life with brown eyed people (minority). 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. All rights reserved. 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. When Elliott conducted the exercise the next year, she added something extra to collect data. "Do blue-eyed people remember what they've been taught?" Consequently, the brown-eyed children started using blue-eyes as an insult. ", The two hugged, and Whisenhunt had tears streaming down her cheeks. The second day, Elliott reversed the groups. Thousands of educators across the United States folded the experiment into their curriculums. One key assumption is that the sample population represents an actual society. The results were the same. A second look at the blue-eyes, brown-eyes experiment that taught third-graders about racism. And the exercise continued in a similar fashion to how it was executed the day before. 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. They don't replace the diagnosis, advice, or treatment of a professional. "How do you think it would feel to be a Negro boy or girl?" Jane would get invited to go to Timbuktu to give a speech. Some people feel we can't move on when you have her out there hawking her 30-year-old experiment. That spring morning 37 years ago, the blue-eyed children were set apart from the children with brown or green eyes. He printed them under the headline "How Discrimination Feels." Given the ethical concerns, will you still rely on a quasi-experimental research design as a source of information in counselling psychology? She asks them if they have ever faced treatment like the type that blue-eyed people would experience in the following two and a half hours. a brown-eyed boy asked. Separate the class into two halves - those with blue eyes and those with brown. THE ANGRY EYE , a 35-minute video, features Jane Elliott conducting her Blue Eyed/Brown Eyed exercise with college students. View Module 2 Discussion_ Are We Still Divided_ Blue Eyes_Brown Eyes_ A 3rd Grade Lesson for Us All.pdf from HUMN 330 at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show five times. On the "Tonight Show" Carson broke the ice by spoofing Elliott's rural roots. The students initially involved wished that everyone could participate in an exercise like this. The blue-eyed girl apologized. Elliott pulled out green construction paper armbands and asked each of the blue . "You know, sweetheart, you haven't changed one bit. In this article, we talk about leadership and female discrimination.. Professor of Journalism, University of Iowa. Danko, M. (2013). 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. She also made the brown-eyed students put construction paper armbands on the blue-eyed students. Given the long-term results of the experiment, the controversial study could not have taken place in today's society despite its significant insights on matters racism. January 1, 2003. Would you like to find out? The tallest structure in Riceville is the water tower. I want to know why youre so willing to accept it or to allow it to happen for others., The first reaction I get from teachers, who see this film or from hearing, hear me discuss what I do say to me How can you do that to these little children? Not only were they fewer in numbers, but the authority figure was against them. Keep me from judging a man until I have walked a mile in his moccasins. This is a Sioux saying. The test violated the principle of respect for people's rights and dignity. Is your time best spent reading someone elses essay? (2013). Abstract The effectiveness of a well-known prejudice-reduction simulation, "Blue Eyes-Brown Eyes," was assessed as a tool for changing the attitudes of ncnblack teacher eduction students toward blacks. When the blue-eyed group saw that the brown-eyed group was going to be seated first, some became upset. "This here is Jane Elliott," I said. Children with brown eyes were forced to wear armbands that made it easy for people to see that they had brown eyes. 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 next day, Elliott reversed the roles. It has since evolved into an online blog and YouTube channel providing mental health advice, tools, and academic support to individuals from all backgrounds. Jane Elliott's experiment. The contents of Exploring Your Mind are for informational and educational purposes only. Melanin, she said, is what causes intelligence. In the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Elliott developed a simple exercise that explored the nature of racism and prejudice.. Elliott's method for exploring racism in the context of an all-white classroom consisted of dividing her students into two groups on the basis of eye color, blue or brown (those with other eye colors were assigned to the group . Back when she introduced the experiment to her Iowa students more than five decades ago, at least one student had the audacity to challenge Elliotts premise, according to those who were in the classroom at the time. Even family members can turn against each other if some authority suddenly decides that those differences are a problem. Sadly, these conversations are still relevant today. SpeedyPaper website, please click below to request its removal: Liked this essay sample but need an original one? The children said yes, and the exercise began. Brian, the Elliotts' oldest son, got beaten up at school, and Jane called the ringleader's, mother. she asked the children, who were white. Ethical & Pedagogical Issues 2. In Jane Elliott's experiment she made the third graders believe that the blue eyed people were better,than the brown eyed people. Then tell them that . Jane Elliot's experiment explains the reasons for discrimination to a small extent. Folks leave their cars unlocked, keys in the ignition. This time, the participants werent a bunch of elementary school children they were young adults. . Sign up for Politics Weekly.]. On the first day of the experiment, she declared the brown-eyed group superior and gave them extra privileges like seconds at lunch, extra recess time, and access to the new school playground. Blue-eyed people. Barbie had to have a Ken, so Elliott picked from the audience a tall, handsome man and accused him of doing the same things with his female subordinates, Pasicznyk said. 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. "She got carried away by this possession she developed over human beings. Not a day goes by without me thinking about it, Ms. Elliott. Could you?". In 1968 after Martin Luther King was assassinated the United States was in turmoil. As Elliott recalls, she engineered the "blue eyes/brown eyes exercise" in 1968 after watching the late-night news cycle announce the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Rather than be deterred by possible ", 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. "You can see the look on their faces. While controversial, the Blue Eyes Brown Eyes exercise continues to be one of the most well-known and praised learning exercises in the world of educational psychology. "Not one of them reprimanded her for that or even corrected her. Elliott, who is white, separated the students into two groupsthose with blue eyes and those with brown eyes. On the first day of the two-day experiment, Elliott told the . On Friday, April 5, 1968, in Riceville, IA, a third-grade student walked . "They are cleaner and they are smarter.". I was stunned. With this experiment she wanted to let the blue-eyed people (white people) feel how it is to be in low power position. She began this work in ", "I've never forgotten the exercise," Whisenhunt volunteered. The act of treating students differently was obviously a metaphor for the social decisions made on a larger level. Ethical issues were 1/3 of the participants refused to take the head off the rat . Considering all the stereotypes and prejudices that exist, what kind of damage is being done? One of the blue eyed even went to hit a brown eyed just for the fact that he was brown eyed. 5/21/2020 Topic: Module 2 Discussion: Elliott was shocked by the results and decided to switch the roles the following day. There are risks to those inoculations, too, but we determine that those risks are worth taking. Did they know what it was like to be discriminated against? The first day of the experiment she convinced the children that blue-eyed people were smarter, better and would have more priorities. It's the Jane Elliott machine. That's what it feels like when you're discriminated against.". 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.