( CNN ) -- The discussion of race is never a black and white issue , and recent `` AC360° '' and CNN.com reports about young children 's attitudes on race became one of the most discussed stories on the site , eliciting more than 4,500 comments . In the study , white children had an overwhelming bias toward white , and black children also had a bias toward white , but it was not nearly as strong as the bias shown by the white children . Many users of the site thought parenting was the issue behind the results , some thought the kids were too naive and others thought the testing method was flawed . Kids ' test answers on race brings mother to tears . Margaret Beale Spencer , a leading researcher in the field of child development , designed the pilot study for CNN 's `` AC360 . '' Beale Spencer used a team of three psychologists to implement it : two testers to execute the study and a statistician to help analyze the results . Her team tested 133 children from schools that met very specific economic and demographic requirements . In total , eight schools participated : four in the greater New York area and four in Georgia . Spencer 's test aimed to re-create the landmark doll test from the 1940s . Those tests , conducted by psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark , were designed to measure how segregation affected African-American children . Full doll study results . Many people who read the story commented that racism is a learned behavior . `` I do believe that parents must take an active role [ regardless of race ] to inform their children that they are no better or no worse than anyone because of race , '' Kejohn03 wrote . `` These lessons were taught to me and when I have children I will do the same . Once this happens , then there will be less misconceptions and negative perceptions regarding race . '' Another reader thought many people missed the point of the results of the study . No one says the children are racist , Trumpet01 wrote . `` The problem here is that if parents do not talk to their kid about race and how to perceive people that are 'different from them ' , they would simply form their opinions based on whatever [ right or wrong ] they gather from society . To suggest that anyone is labeling these innocent kids to be racist is merely unfortunate , '' the writer said . Watch the psychologist who devised the test talk about the role of parents . One person said they had done a mini-survey with a much smaller sample set -- their children -- and said the results showed the influence television has on our lives . Realjoe said the same questions were posed as were new ones . The writer said that where they live , there is a big Native American population . The children chose a brown figure as the one most likely to have a drinking problem , the white figure as the one that was gay and the black doll was picked for the sports questions , he wrote . `` I say , thank you media/TV , '' realjoe wrote . A few readers thought the study was flawed . Some thought more children should have been studied while others thought that 5-year-olds wo n't give answers that prove anything . `` For one thing , 5-year-old children do n't have a broad base of experience and are inclined to pick the familiar , '' andme2 wrote . `` If the child does n't have any brown or black friends , chances are he or she will gravitate toward white children because children of a different color are unknowns in his or her life . '' The reader thought it would have been better if the children were observed interacting with each other in different groups , but acknowledged that might have been an issue , too , `` because the children would realize something was expected of them and might behave accordingly . '' Others said children -- and adults -- were conditioned to think of light objects as good and dark as bad . It 's `` something human beings have been doing for thousands of years , '' reader timmy2136 said . But others said the study 's results were the most important thing and the discussion over the methodology drew attention away from the revelations of the tests . `` I think it 's interesting how many people want to fight the results , rather than conclude , 'Hey , maybe it is a good idea to teach our kids when they are really young that we should n't judge people by the way they look , ' `` FrustratedMI wrote . iReport : Where do we go from here ? Watch Anderson Cooper 360° weeknights 10pm ET . For the latest from AC360° click here .
More than 100 Twitter users comment on story on children and race . New study shows black and white people are biased toward lighter skin . One user says blacks are the biggest influence . Some users suggest results should be published .