In 1968 Jane Elliot, an elementary teacher in the USA, decided to teach her children about discrimination by splitting the class according to eye colour. Elliot initially told her pupils that children with blue eyes were the superior group. Despite initial disbelief, there was eventually a significant a difference in the behaviour of both groups as blue-eyed children sought to take advantage of their status whilst brown-eyed children were left to feel that they were valued less than their blue-eyed peers. The next day Elliot reversed the experiment stating that brown-eyed children were superior and that blue-eyed children were not. Similar behaviour occurred although reversed.
Elliot's experiment with her pupils has been a source of study and interest for the general public, psychology students, and academics for decades since. The following video is a follow-up documentary of the original study featuring Elliot and her pupils.
A Class Divided
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