The formation of in-group favoritism and out-group prejudice in young children: are they distinct attitudes?
Although standardized measures of prejudice reveal high levels of ethnocentric bias in the preschool years, it may reflect in-group favoritism or out-group prejudice. A measure that partially decouples the two attitudes was given to White children between 4 and 7 years of age to examine the reciprocal relation between and the acquisition and correlates of in-group and out-group attitudes. The two attitudes were reciprocally correlated in 1 sample from a racially homogeneous school but not in a 2nd sample from a mixed-race school. In-group favoritism did not appear until 5 years of age but then reached significant levels; it was strongly related to developing social cognitions. Out-group prejudice was weaker, but its targets suffer from comparison with the high favoritism accorded in-group members.
Aboud
Frances E
FE
Department of Psychology, 1205 Dr. Penfield Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B1, Canada. frances.aboud@mcgill.ca
D001290:Attitude; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002755:Choice Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D011287:Prejudice; D012938:Social Perception