The Doll Experiment

The Doll Test

By Carla McCarty

In the 1940s, psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark conducted a famous study with young African American children using two dolls—one Black and one white. The children were asked a series of questions about the dolls, such as which one was “nice” or “pretty.”

This simple experiment revealed powerful insights about how society and racism can shape self-image and identity at an early age.

It has been repeated several times

The Experiment

Open Ended

What do you think is the purpose of the experiment?
(Think about what the researchers were trying to discover by asking children these questions.)

Open Ended

How do the children’s answers reflect what they have learned about race and beauty?

Open Ended

When the children are asked which doll looks most like them, why is this moment significant

Open Ended

If you were one of the children in the experiment, how do you think you might have responded, and why?

Open Ended

If the same experiment were conducted today, do you think the results to be the same or different? Explain your response