The Clark Doll Experiments

As you stroll through the grocery store, a bright pink aisle catches your eye. You turn into the fluorescently colored section and rows of plastic dolls cover the walls. You remember constantly playing with these Barbie’s as a child. You notice how tall, thin and flawless they all appear. You make another observation. All of the dolls are white. In the 1940’s, experiments known as “The Clark Doll Tests” were conducted by Kenneth and Mamie Clark. According to APA.org, the tests revealed how segregation affected African American children psychologically. The black adolescents, who were between the ages of six and nine, were given two different dolls. One of the dolls was white and the other was black. When asked questions about the dolls, the kids associated kind words with the white dolls and negative words with the black doll. The Clark Doll Test proved that segregation had a negative effect on African American children.

The two of them both obtained their bachelor 's and master 's degree from Howard University. Before their marriage, the two of them partnered together, as stated by APA.org, “to extend research on the self-identification of black children”. They later became the first African Americans to receive a doctoral degree from Columbia University. After getting married, in 1946, the Clark’s opened their own agency known as the Northside Center for Children. They held multiple physiological experiments regarding how racial issues affected children 's self-esteem. Throughout the 1900’s, racism between blacks and whites was vicious. Blacks had separate bathrooms, water fountains, schools and even different sections on the bus from whites. The Clarks believed these racist acts made African children think little of themselves. They tested their thesis with the doll