24 black Ss, age 15 to 25, 35 to 45, 55 to 65 yr., were required to choose a real and ideal face from 11 faces which differed in skin color and attribute desirable and undesirable behavioral attributes to 20 figures, 10 of which were Negro. Analyses of the former task showed neither a significant preference on the part of all Ss for dark skin colors nor an increasing tendency for older Ss to prefer light skin; analyses of the latter task also indicated that across all age groups there was no preference for dark skin. However, Ss in the youngest age group attributed significantly more positive behavioral attributes to black skin than Ss in the older age categories.
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