Prejudice development is constrained by cognitive stages, not just learning

Evidence

Developmental stages of prejudice now refer to stages in cognitive development rather than learning stages. Katz (1976) was the first to pick up on Allport’s sequence, demonstrating its utility in her research on overgeneralization and differentiation. The current view, however, arose from applying Piaget’s theory to prejudice (Piaget & Weil, 1951) and to social development more generally. Social-cognitive and social-emotional development determine what children are able to learn from others and to retain once the model and the reinforcement disappear. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2004

Developmental stages of prejudice now refer to stages in cognitive development rather than learning stages. Katz (1976) was the first to pick up on Allport’s sequence, demonstrating its utility in her research on overgeneralization and differentiation. The current view, however, arose from applying Piaget’s theory to prejudice (Piaget & Weil, 1951) and to social development more generally. Social-cognitive and social-emotional development determine what children are able to learn from others and to retain once the model and the reinforcement disappear. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2004

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the shift from Allport’s learning-stage model to a Piagetian cognitive-stage model of prejudice development.
• ADDENDUM: Corrections to Allport’s stage model matter here: readiness constraints imply contact interventions succeed only when children have reached the relevant cognitive capacity.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 2004; , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2004
• XREF: connects to: Sex-based learning bias appears in children before gender identity develops — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 169