Abstract
Humans demonstrate a clear bias toward members of their own group over members of other groups in a variety of ways. It has been argued that the motivation underlying this in-group bias in adults may be favoritism toward one’s own group (in-group love), derogation of the out-group (out-group hate), or both. Although some studies have demonstrated in-group bias among children and infants, nothing is known about the underlying motivations of this bias. Using a novel game, we found that in-group love is already present in children of preschool age and can motivate in-group-biased behavior across childhood. In contrast, out-group hate develops only after a child’s sixth birthday and is a sufficient motivation for in-group-biased behavior from school age onward. These results help to better identify the motivation that underlies in-group-biased behavior in children.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 921-927 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Psychological Science |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 501021 Social psychology
Keywords
- childhood development
- cognitive processes
- decision making
- in-group bias
- in-group favoritism
- intergroup dynamics
- ontogeny
- out-group derogation
- social cognition