Children infer outgroup avoidance from mere observed segregation patterns

Evidence

An important question is how children learn bias in the first place, even under circumstances in which their parents do not express overt prejudice. It is not enough to show that paired associate learning can occur in 10- year-olds, because prejudice may first be learned differently (e.g., emotionally, making it harder to eliminate) than the way it can be learned later. Other forms of observational learning may be more common if, for example, children notice that people of the same racial/ethnic group congregate in families and friendship groups. Thus, illusory correlations ( Johnston & Jacobs, 2003) and actual regularities will be quickly observed by preschoolers, who are noted for their eagerness to acquire language and social rules. Children may assume that because their family has fewer associations with outgroup members, the latter are to be avoided and disliked. Such a minimal learning environment may be a sufficient explanation for young children who give meaning to social regularities, yet it may not explain later learning. Learning processes may be moderated by developmental and identity characteristics of the child learner. Because children have a different understanding and evaluation of self and social information at 5 years compared to 9 years, they will pick out different messages to adopt. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2016 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Children may assume that because their family has fewer associations with outgroup members, the latter are to be avoided and disliked. Such a minimal learning environment may be a sufficient explanation for young children who give meaning to social regularities, yet it may not explain later learning. Learning processes may be moderated by developmental and identity characteristics of the child learner. Because children have a different understanding and evaluation of self and social information at 5 years compared to 9 years, they will pick out different messages to adopt. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2016 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Children infer ingroup preferences merely from observed social regularities without explicit teaching; Even minimal, meaningless group membership triggers ingroup-favoring discrimination in children — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2003; Children infer prejudice from observed social regularities even without overt parental bias — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2016 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Children can acquire prejudice through minimal observation of social regularities without parental modeling #corroborates (0.95) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2016
• Children infer prejudice from observed social regularities even without overt parental bias #corroborates (0.93) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2016