blue eyes brown eyes experiment ethical issues blue eyes brown eyes experiment ethical issues

When she went downtown to do errands, she heard whispers. Separate the class into two halves - those with blue eyes and those with brown. To this day, at the age of 86, Jane Elliott continues this work. She also made the brown-eyed students put construction paper armbands on the blue-eyed students. In this article, we talk about leadership and female discrimination.. In fact, most of the initial response was negative. All rights reserved. On the "Tonight Show" Carson broke the ice by spoofing Elliott's rural roots. Elliott rattled off the rules for the day, saying blue-eyed kids had to use paper cups if they drank from the water fountain. Shermer and Bloom discuss: "Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes" Jane Elliott famous racism experiment reactions to it (in the classroom, locally, nationally, internationally) whether the "experiment" was really more of a demonstration public interest, from Johnny Carson to Oprah Winfrey the questionable ethics of the experiment what it reveals about tribalism, racism . ", 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?". Some guidelines for avoiding or reducing this effect are: In conclusion, Jane Elliotts experiment demonstrates the fragility of coexistence and cooperation. 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. 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? 980 Words. There were more brown-eyed students in the room. 10," Elliott said. PracticalPsychology. The day after Martin Luther King Jr. was shot, Elliott had a talk with her students about diversity and racism. Theyd have to use paper cups if they drank from the water fountain. School ought to be about developing character, but most teachers won't touch that with a ten-foot pole.". Folks leave their cars unlocked, keys in the ignition. 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. Now 45, she had been in Elliott's third grade class in 1969. Danko, M. (2013). Articles and opinions on happiness, fear and other aspects of human psychology. 2012 2023 . She then made the blue-eyed students believe that they were better and smarter than their counterparts. The second day, Elliott reversed the groups. Essay Sample: Ethical Concerns in Jane Elliot's Experiment. One teacher ended up displaying the same bigotry Elliott had spent the morning trying to fight. Its not surprising to anyone that some social groups discriminate against others due to ethnicity, religion, or culture. Almost immediately, it was apparent that she had created segregation and prejudice given that the blue-eyed students began exhibiting signs of dominion and superiority. one girl asked. It also shows how arbitrary and subjective things can turn friends, family members, and citizens against each other. ", That spring morning 37 years ago, the blue-eyed children were set apart from the children with brown or green eyes. The mainstream media were complicit in advancing such a simplistic narrative. Jane Elliott, a teacher and anti-racism activist, performed a direct experiment with the students in her classroom. She began this work in She attended a oneroom rural schoolhouse.Today, at 72, Elliott, who has short white hair, a penetrating gaze and no-nonsense demeanor, shows no signs of slowing. The experiment, known as Blue Eyes Brown Eyes experiment, is regarded as an eye-opening way for children to learn about racism and discrimination. She chatted about the experiment, and before she knew it was whisked off the stage. 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. With a couple of basic and arbitrary examples, Elliott made the case that brown-eyed people were better. At lunchtime, Elliott hurried to the teachers' lounge. January 1, 2003. Jane Elliott, a teacher and anti-racism activist, performed a direct experiment with the students in her classroom. In response to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, Jane Elliott devised the controversial and startling, "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes Exercise." This, now famous, exercise labels participants as inferior or superior based solely upon the color of their eyes and exposes them to the experience of . The minimal group paradigm has shaped an entire methodology in social psychology. Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER! One group consisted pupils with brown eye while the other group consisted of those with blue eyes. Cookie Policy Was The Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Experiment Ethical? 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. The experiment known as Blue Eyes Brown Eyes experiment is regarded as an eye-opening way for children to learn about racism and discrimination. One of the blue eyed even went to hit a brown eyed just for the fact that he was brown eyed. Introduction. Could you?". Blue eyes, brown eyes: What Jane Elliott's famous experiment says about race 50 years on. She could feel a chasm forming between the two groups of students. Classroom experiment. . It has since evolved into an online blog and YouTube channel providing mental health advice, tools, and academic support to individuals from all backgrounds. Why Did Jane Elliott Choose Eye Color To Divide Her Students? "On an airplane, it is," Elliott said to appreciative laughter from the studio audience. This bibliography was generated on Cite This For Me on Monday, March 7, 2016. Not everyone appreciated Elliotts exercise. Elliott was even brought on The Tonight Show to talk about her experiences. It makes you proud. This meeting, along with other clips of the exercises impact on education, is featured in a PBS documentary called A Class Divided. Society made them believe they were better than other people for arbitrary reasons such as skin color or gender. "You can see the look on their faces. That spring morning 37 years ago, the blue-eyed children were set apart from the children with brown or green eyes. Why was the Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes Experiment considered unethical in psychology? More than 50 years after her famous exercise, Elliott is still fighting. APA principles acknowledge that individuals rights to privacy, self-determination, and confidentiality is paramount to all psychological activities. Jane Elliott's Blue-Eyed versus Brown-Eyed Students experiment was conducted to determine whether racism was a learned characteristic. That's not true. 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. Problems with this research were that it went against a lot of ethical issues. In 1968, schoolteacher Jane Elliott decided to divide her classroom into students with blue eyes and students with brown eyes. Scores of others did participate. Is it even possible today? To begin with, Jane Elliot's experiment involved deception in which the children were made in believing that change in eye color influence intelligence. Provide your email for sample delivery, You agree to receive our emails and consent to our Terms & Conditions, Order an essay on this subject and get a 100% original paper. Professor Jane Elliott performed a group experiment with her students that they would never forget. Advertising Notice "She got carried away by this possession she developed over human beings. The Associated Press followed up, quoting Elliott as saying she was "dumbfounded" by the exercise's effectiveness. Ms. Elliott, now 87, said she started teaching about racism on April 5, 1968 the day after the Rev. In present society, psychological experiments are guided by honesty, truthfulness, and accuracy. "I think these children walked in a colored child's moccasins for a day," she was quoted as saying. She has led training sessions at General Electric, Exxon, AT&T, IBM and other corporations, and has lectured to the IRS, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Department of Education and the Postal Service. She gave all of the students simple spelling and math tests two weeks before the exercise, on the days of the exercise, and after the exercise. Much like the Zimbardo's Stanford Prison experiment where students were divided by either being the jailer or the jailed. Alan Charles Kors, a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, says Elliott's diversity training is "Orwellian" and singled her out as "the Torquemada of thought reform." Jane Elliott's Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes experiment was a turning point in social psychology. I felt mad. Keep me from judging a man until I have walked a mile in his moccasins. This is a Sioux saying. Little children don't like uproar in the classroom. She left teaching in the mid-80s to speak publicly about the experience and the impact of prejudice and racism. 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. "Would you like to come on the show?" I felt mad. She told them brown-eyed . As the morning wore on, brown-eyed kids berated their blue-eyed classmates. Junior high, maybe. "They can't forget me," she said, "and because of who they are, they can't forgive me. Elliott pulled out green construction paper armbands and asked each of the blue . In the most uncomfortable moments, Elliott reminds the students of violent acts caused by racism or homophobia. 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. "Well, what do you expect from him, Mrs. Elliott," a brown-eyed student said as a blue-eyed student got an arithmetic problem wrong. We walked into the principal's office at RicevilleElementary School, Elliott's old haunt. Website. Blue-eyed people. You didnt understand the directions. 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. According to role theorist Erving Goffman, emotional and cognitive experiences in such experiments as the Blue-Eyed versus the Brown-Eyed can have a long-term influence on behaviors and attitudes of participants especially when they are made to play the role of a stigmatized group (Biddle, 2013).