Kindergarten Children Prefer Same-Color Peers

FINKELSTEIN, NEAL W., and HASKINS, RON. Kindergarten Children Prefer Same-Color Peers. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1983, 54, 502-508. 38 black and 25 white kindergarten children were observed during classroom instruction and during recess on school playgrounds in both the fall and spring. As compared with a random model of selecting same-color peers for social interaction, both black and white children showed same-color preferences in their social behavior. This tendency was greater during recess than during classroom instruction and was greater in the spring-after the first 7-9 months of schooling-than in the fall. Although neither black nor white children behaved differently toward other-color peers, as compared with same-color peers, white children talked relatively more than blacks, and black children emitted relatively more negative behavior and commands than whites. We conclude that black and white children indicate a preference for same-color peers at the beginning of kindergarten, that this preference increases over the school year, and that differences in behavioral style between blacks and whites may play a role in same-color preferences.