Group norms, threat, and children's racial prejudice.
To assess predictions from social identity development theory (SIDT; Nesdale, 2004) concerning children's ethnic/racial prejudice, 197 Anglo-Australian children ages 7 or 9 years participated in a minimal group study as a member of a team that had a norm of inclusion or exclusion. The team was threatened or not threatened by an out-group that was of the same or different race. Consistent with SIDT, prejudice was greater when the in-group had a norm of exclusion and there was threat from the out-group. Norms and threat also interacted with participant age to influence ethnic attitudes, although prejudice was greatest when the in-group had an exclusion norm and there was out-group threat. The implications of the findings for SIDT are discussed.
Nesdale
Drew
D
School of Psychology, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. d.nesdale@griffith.edu.au
Maass
Anne
A
Durkin
Kevin
K
Griffiths
Judith
J
D001143:Arousal; D001290:Attitude; D001315:Australia; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology*; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010553:Personality Development; D011287:Prejudice; D011822:Race Relations; D012016:Reference Values; D012059:Rejection, Psychology; D012933:Social Identification; D012945:Social Values; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*