The ontogeny of the motivation that underlies in-group bias.
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.
1Kleinkindforschung in Thüringen Research Group, University of Erfurt.
David
D
Buttelmann
Robert
R
Böhm
D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D012929:Psychological Distance; D012919:Social Behavior; D012933:Social Identification; D012938:Social Perception
childhood development; cognitive processes; decision making; in-group bias; in-group favoritism; intergroup dynamics; ontogeny; out-group derogation; social cognition