The ontogeny of the motivation that underlies in-group bias

David Buttelmann, Robert Böhm

Publications: Contribution to journalArticlePeer Reviewed

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 languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)921-927
Number of pages7
JournalPsychological Science
Volume25
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2014
Externally publishedYes

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

Cite this