ABSTRACT
A preoccupation with identity themes and issues concerning black people has characterized research on minorities during the previous four decades. The motivation for the focus has its etiology in the literature concerned with black children's white-choice behavior (Clark & Clark, 1939, 1940). Generally, the focus on identity research is paralleled in volume only by black/white comparative studies of IQ and achievement. This paper's focus is on the black child's understanding of societal values and attitudes. Specifically, the child's implicit knowledge of culture, along with the more general social cognitive abilities, are seen to shape group identity.
