The experiments that were conducted by Jane Elloitt in "A Class Divided" involved separating individuals into distinct groups by eye color. After Martin Luther King was assassinated over thirty years ago, this intelligent and brave school teacher decided to impart a lesson in racial sensitivity to her school children. What she taught became a famous lesson in stereotyping and prejudice, and she went on to win the National Mental Health Association Award for Excellence in Education.
She divided the class into two groups, those with blue eyes and those with brown eyes. She began by separating the two groups and then pointing out behaviors that that the lower status group members were doing in order to engender feelings of hostility in the in-group members. Singling out children who were misbehaving, the teacher explained that these children were misbehaving because being brown eyed, they were less well-behaved. Any time a brown-eyed child made a mistake, the teacher made a point to explain to the blue-eyed students that the child was incorrect because as a brown-eyed child, they were less intelligent.
She also restricted what the children were allowed to do depending on which group they were in. The lower status group was not allowed to play on the swing set, and the higher status group was given five extra minutes of recess. Similarly, the higher status group was allowed to drink from the water fountain but the lower status group had to get a cup of water from the sink.
The next day the teacher replicated the variables, but switched the groups. Students who had been in the lower status group relished the opportunity to be on top, and didn't question their new position. After the experiment was complete, the teacher took the time to explain to all of the students the purpose of the lesson. She replicated this experiment with many classes, and even did a similar workshop with prison guards.
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