Effects of undergoing arbitrary discrimination on subsequent attitudes toward a minority group

The present study undertook to explore the hypothesis that having been the object of prejudice and discrimination, a person will be less likely to hold prejudiced beliefs and exhibit discriminatory tendencies toward a minority group. The setting for the experiment was a rural suburban elementary school. Two third grade classes with 31 children in each class constituted the subjects. The bulk of the experiment took place on two days. On the first day, after discussing prejudice and discrimination with the class, the teacher of the experimental class told the children that they were going to see what it feels like to be the object of such forces. The children were randomly assigned to be 'Orange' (0) or 'Green' (G) people. The class was told that 0 children possessed certain superior traits and these children were granted privileges G's were denied. Throughout the day the teacher seized every opportunity to praise O's and criticize G's. On the second day, conditions were reversed and the G children became the superior group. As a check on the effect of the manipulations, the children were asked to indicate with whom they would like to work at the board; record was kept of whether 'superior' children were predominately chosen. The children were also administered a questionnaire, likewise to determine if 'superior' children would be predominately chosen as answers for such questions as 'who I would like to be my best friend"