Harold the Cat

Our story accurately represents group polarization, conformity, and confirmation bias. It is a children's book, the point to start conversations about discrimination in society & acceptance of others.

Once upon a time, there was a cat named Harold. Harold was a very happy cat. He liked to jump, and run, and play. His fur was fluffy and orange. His family had grey fur just like all the other kitties in Kitty Town. He loved his orange fur. When he was big enough to start school, he was so excited! He made sure he was groomed very nicely as he walked through the doors of the school. When he got to his classroom he felt very welcomed. He saw many smiling faces, except for one cat named Bobby. Bobby looked at Harold and said with a smirk, “He looks like a carrot! I hate vegetables!” All the other kitties with Bobby laughed and pointed with him. Harold slunk to the back of the room, hurt by their mean laughter. A cat sitting in front of him asked, “Why is your fur orange?” and Harold responded with, “That's just how I was born.” Then it was time for Harold’s favorite part of the day: recess! Harold ran outside, eager to make new friends! He walked up to a group of kitties playing chase, but they all ran away. He brought out his new ball of yarn to play with but no one came near. Harold was very confused. Then, Bobby and his crew came up to Harold. Bobby demanded to know why Harold had orange fur. Harold felt like an outsider. He didn’t understand why the other kitties were being so mean. They  were smiling at him just a few hours ago, and now they are turned against him. Harold was very sad so he went to swing on the swings by himself.  While Harold was busy, Bobby gave a speech to his followers. “Harold is orange and we are grey. We are better than him because we are the same and he is different!” All the grey kitties meowed in unison, agreeing with Bobby.  Other kitties started shouting things such as: “We are better than him!” “He isn’t like us!” “We have the best fur!” The other kitties really believed that they were better than Harold. The bell rang and Harold felt a little better. It was finally time to go home.

When Harold got home, his parents asked him how his day went. “Great!” He said, “I’ve made so many new friends!” He was walking up to his room when suddenly, he had an idea! He covered himself in glue and rolled around under his bed until he was nice and dusty! He thought, “Now I look just like them!” The next day he got to class and went to his seat. He seemed to blend in perfectly! No one was saying anything! All of a sudden, the cat behind him let out a big “AAACHHOOO!” and bright, orange Harold was back. The dust blew right off him.  Bobby and all the other cats laughed, until Harold stood up and said, “I like my orange fur! It’s what makes me special!” Bobby kept laughing but the other cats were stunned! They suddenly realized that Harold was exactly the same as them, even though his fur was orange. They smiled and ran over to Harold, offering to share their ball of yarn or bowl of milk with him. Even Bobby apologized! Harold was a happy cat once again!

Our story accurately represents group polarization, conformity, and confirmation bias. Conformity is a social behavior influenced by other beliefs. Conformity is represented when Bobby gathers the kitties together to announce that they are better than Harold because they have the same fur, and Harold is different. All of the kitties conform to Bobby’s opinion, because they believe he is a leader. Group polarization is shown when all the kitties gather after the speech to further discuss Harold’s differences that make him inferior to the rest of them. As they all meet to discuss, their beliefs against Harold strengthen. In group bias is the tendency to favor one’s own group. This is shown in the story when Bobby explains that they are better than Harold because they have grey fur, while Harold has orange fur. The kitties favor their own group of grey fur because they are all the same.

Author's Note

Please comment to share thoughts on prejudice and discrimination, whether in the story or in reality. Please share with students or children, introduce them to the issue and acceptance of others.