Confronting Student Prejudice with "Mario Kart" Nintendo Wii*

Abstract

This paper explores the use of “Mario Kart” Nintendo Wii as an active learning tool to teach about intergroup conflict as a cause of prejudice. Participating students were randomly placed into two “Mario Kart” Nintendo Wii tournaments. Students then competed as team members and ranked personality traits for their team (in-­group) and the opposing team (out-­group). Discussion of the results focused on the role of competition in creating in-­group/out-­group biases and how this relates to prejudice. Results from a pre-­test/post-­test quiz indicated that students understood these concepts more clearly after the tournaments were held. Furthermore, those who participated improved their scores more than those who did not articipate in the tournaments.