Psych 101: Racism is Learned by I'm Adopted, Now What? published on 2021-05-28T18:26:05Z Did you know that a baby’s brain absorbs information faster in their first 3 years than at any other time in their life? No, not the kind of information that helps you distinguish the difference between left and right, up and down, or right from wrong (though many babies can, and do, begin to learn these basics during their first years)… I’m talking about learning information through observation, and take it from someone who spent a lot of time studying them in school… a baby’s brain doesn’t miss anything. For a lot of parents, this is great news! Instead of teaching a child good manners the same way a teacher explains to a student why Jane has 2 apples left to sell after Adam bought 1, a parent can actively model what good manners look like and sound like. Instead of reading about it in a book or learning about it in a classroom, a parent can model that behavior, allowing the child to see it, in real time, on repeat. The flip side of this indiscriminate information superhighway is that children often pick up on negative behaviors, too. Manners, sharing, teamwork, and respect are just a few values children are exposed to through passive observation. So, what happens to society when new generations of children are observing a growing rift between those who hold different values on subjects like racism and diversity? On this week’s episode, Sophia and I deep dive into all things racism; how being exposed to racism at different ages can impact how one thinks about race, about their own personal identity, and how Sophia’s study of eastern cultural anthropology has shifted her mindset altogether. Listen now. Genre Society & Culture