Toddlers show racial bias when picking playmates, a study reveals, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Researchers tested the reaction of white 15 month olds as toys were distributed.
The babies are more likely to help those who share the same ethnicity, which is known as in-group bias when people favor those with the same characteristics as oneself.
The University of Washington team first noticed the phenomenon when the infants began playing favorites with the researchers during a previous experiment.
Prof. Jessica Sommerville said, “At the time, about half of the research assistants in my lab were Asian-American and the other half were Caucasian, and most of the babies in our experiments are Caucasian.”
“It's surprising to see these pro-social traits, but at the same time, we're also seeing that babies have self-motivated concerns too.”
The study revealed when it came to picking a playmate, the babies seemed more tolerant of unfairness.