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Brandone AC, Stout W. Mentalistic and normative frameworks in children's explanations of others' behaviors. Child Dev 2024; 95:e139-e154. [PMID: 37902615 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.14027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/31/2023]
Abstract
As they learn to navigate the social world, children construct frameworks to interpret others' behavior. The present studies examined two such frameworks: a mentalistic framework, which construes behavior as driven by internal mental states; and a normative framework, which presumes people act in accordance with social norms. Participants included 101 children (ages 4, 7, and 10; 81% White; 41% female) and 35 adults (66% female) tested in the northeastern United States from 2019 to 2021. Children and adults utilized both mentalistic and normative frameworks to explain others' behaviors. Framework use depended on features of the behavior being explained. Minimal developmental differences were observed. The relative independence and the utility of the mentalistic and normative frameworks for naïve reasoning about behavior are considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda C Brandone
- Department of Psychology, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Wyntre Stout
- Department of Psychology, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
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2
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Orvell A, Elli G, Umscheid V, Simmons E, Kross E, Gelman SA. Learning the rules of the game: The role of generic "you" and "we" in shaping children's interpretations of norms. Child Dev 2023; 94:159-171. [PMID: 35976150 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
A critical skill of childhood is learning social norms. We examine whether the generic pronouns "you" and "we," which frame information as applying to people in general rather than to a specific individual, facilitate this process. In one pre-registered experiment conducted online between 2020 and 2021, children 4- to 9-year-old primarily living in the midwestern U.S. (N = 146, 75 girls, 71 boys, Mage = 7.14, SD = 1.69, 82% White) interpreted actions described with generic pronouns (vs. "I") as normatively correct and selected the speaker who used generic pronouns as the rule-follower, particularly when generic pronouns were presented first. There were no significant effects of age. These results illustrate how generic pronouns influence how children discern unfamiliar norms and form interpersonal judgments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariana Orvell
- Department of Psychology, Bryn Mawr College, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Giulia Elli
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Valerie Umscheid
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Ella Simmons
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Ethan Kross
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.,Ross School of Management and Organizations, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Susan A Gelman
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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3
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Mari MA. How cues to social categorization impact children's inferences about social categories. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2022; 229:103707. [PMID: 35985155 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Social categorization involves two crucial processes: First, children seek properties on which they can categorize individuals, i.e., they learn to form social categories; then children make inferences based on social category membership and might develop affective responses toward social categories. Over the last decade, a growing number of research in developmental psychology started to use novel social categories to investigate how children learn and reason about social categories. To date, three types of cues have been put forward as means to form social categories, namely linguistic, visual, and behavioral cues. Based on social category membership, children draw inferences about the shared properties of social category members and about how social category members ought to behave and interact with each other. With additional input, children might apply essentialist beliefs to social categories and develop affective responses toward social categories. This article aims to provide key insights on the development of stereotypes and intergroup biases by reviewing recent works that investigated how children learn to form novel social categories and the kind of inferences they make about these novel social categories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magali A Mari
- Cognitive Science Center, Rue de la Pierre-à-Mazel 7, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
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Peretz-Lange R, Harvey T, Blake PR. From “haves” to “have nots”: Developmental declines in subjective social status reflect children's growing consideration of what they do not have. Cognition 2022; 223:105027. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2021] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Jurkat S, Iza Simba NB, Hernández Chacón L, Itakura S, Kärtner J. Cultural Similarities and Differences in Explaining Others’ Behavior in 4- to 9-Year-Old Children From Three Cultural Contexts. JOURNAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/00220221221098423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies suggest that people from the Western hemisphere tend to explain others’ behavior based on a person’s traits and dispositions, while participants from non-Western cultural settings more likely refer to situational factors. From a developmental perspective, it has been suggested that culture-specific modes of explaining behavior gradually emerge during late childhood and adolescence. The present study explored whether traces of a corresponding culture-specific development can be found at earlier ages when using simplified assessments. In total, 438 children between 4 and 9 years old from Münster (urban Germany), Kyoto (urban Japan), and Cotacachi (rural Ecuador), were asked to explain positive and deviant behaviors of children depicted in simple picture-based vignettes. While more internal attributions were given in Münster than in Kyoto and Cotacachi children at 4 to 5 years old, these cultural differences disappeared as internal attributions significantly increased with age in Kyoto and Cotacachi but not Münster children. Analyzing children’s explanations on a level of subcategories revealed more subtle cultural specificities. For example, when giving internal explanations, Cotacachi children focused on stable traits, while Münster children emphasized individual desires and Kyoto children highlighted more volatile aspects. Cross-cultural differences in children’s social explanations could partially be explained by mothers’ preference for autonomy-related socialization goals. Taken together, this study provides evidence for an earlier onset of internal explanations when they are culturally accentuated and further calls for a more nuanced approach to capture culture-specific meaning systems reflected in everyday social explanations.
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Essa F, Weinsdörfer A, Shilo R, Diesendruck G, Rakoczy H. Children explain in‐ and out‐group behavior differently. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/sode.12499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Francine Essa
- Department of Psychology & Gonda Brain Research Center Bar‐Ilan University Ramat‐Gan Israel
| | - Anika Weinsdörfer
- Department of Developmental Psychology University of Goettingen Goettingen Germany
| | - Reut Shilo
- Department of Psychology & Gonda Brain Research Center Bar‐Ilan University Ramat‐Gan Israel
| | - Gil Diesendruck
- Department of Psychology & Gonda Brain Research Center Bar‐Ilan University Ramat‐Gan Israel
| | - Hannes Rakoczy
- Department of Developmental Psychology University of Goettingen Goettingen Germany
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8
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Roberts SO, Ho AK, Gelman SA. Should Individuals Think Like Their Group? A Descriptive-to-Prescriptive Tendency Toward Group-Based Beliefs. Child Dev 2020; 92:e201-e220. [PMID: 32845017 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Across three pre-registered studies with children (ages 4-9) and adults (N = 303), we examined whether how a group is predicted evaluations of how group members should be (i.e., a descriptive-to-prescriptive tendency), under conditions in which the descriptive group norms entailed beliefs that were fact-based (Study 1), opinion-based (Study 2), and ideology-based (Study 3). Overall, participants tended to disapprove of individuals with beliefs that differed from their group, but the extent of this tendency varied across development and as a function of the belief under consideration (e.g., younger children did not show a descriptive-to-prescriptive tendency in the context of facts and ideologies, suggesting that they prioritized truth over group norms). Implications for normative reasoning and ideological polarization are discussed.
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Dunlea JP, Wolle RG, Heiphetz L. Enduring Positivity: Children Of Incarcerated Parents Report More Positive Than Negative Emotions When Thinking about Close Others. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2020.1797749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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10
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Raman L, Marchak KA, Gelman SA. Children’s understanding of food and activities on body size. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2020.100865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Abstract
Social categorization is a universal mechanism for making sense of a vast social world with roots in perceptual, conceptual, and social systems. These systems emerge strikingly early in life and undergo important developmental changes across childhood. The development of social categorization entails identifying which ways of classifying people are culturally meaningful, how these categories might be used to predict, explain, and evaluate the behavior of other people, and how one's own identity relates to these systems of categorization and representation. Social categorization can help children simplify and understand their social environment but has detrimental consequences in the forms of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. Thus, understanding how social categorization develops is a central problem for the cognitive, social, and developmental sciences. This review details the multiple developmental processes that underlie this core psychological capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marjorie Rhodes
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Andrew Baron
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
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Skinner AL, Olson KR, Meltzoff AN. Acquiring group bias: Observing other people's nonverbal signals can create social group biases. J Pers Soc Psychol 2019; 119:824-838. [PMID: 31524429 DOI: 10.1037/pspi0000218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Evidence of group bias based on race, ethnicity, nationality, and language emerges early in the life span. Although understanding the initial acquisition of group bias has critical theoretical and practical implications, precisely how group biases are acquired has been understudied. In two preregistered experiments, we tested the hypothesis that generalized social group biases can be acquired through exposure to positive nonverbal signals directed toward a novel adult from one group and more negative nonverbal signals directed toward a novel adult from another group. We sought to determine whether children would acquire global nonverbal signal-consistent social group biases that extended beyond their explicit social preferences, by measuring children's preferences, imitation, and behavioral intentions. Supporting our preregistered hypotheses, preschool-age participants favored small and large groups whose member received positive nonverbal signals, relative to groups whose member received more negative nonverbal signals. We also replicated prior work indicating that children will acquire individual target biases from the observation of biased nonverbal signals. Here we make the case that generalized social group biases can be rapidly and unintentionally transmitted on the basis of observational learning from nonverbal signals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Miller JG, Wice M, Goyal N. Contributions and challenges of cultural research on the development of social cognition. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2018.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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Chalik L, Dunham Y. Beliefs About Moral Obligation Structure Children's Social Category-Based Expectations. Child Dev 2018; 91:e108-e119. [PMID: 30298909 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Young children view social category members as morally obligated toward one another, and expect these obligations to shape people's social behavior. The present work investigates how children specify which behaviors are constrained by social categories in this way. In two studies (N = 128), 4- and 5-year-old children predicted that morally positive behaviors would be directed toward in-group members, and that morally negative behaviors would be directed toward out-group members, but did not hold equally strong expectations about behaviors described as positive or negative for reasons irrelevant to morality. Thus, notions of morality are embedded within children's representations of social categories, such that when learning about novel moral norms, children immediately expect those obligations to uniquely hold within social groups.
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Roberts SO, Guo C, Ho AK, Gelman SA. Children’s descriptive-to-prescriptive tendency replicates (and varies) cross-culturally: Evidence from China. J Exp Child Psychol 2018; 165:148-160. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2017.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2016] [Revised: 03/21/2017] [Accepted: 03/24/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Miller PH, Aloise-Young PA. Revisiting Young Children's Understanding of the Psychological Causes of Behavior. Child Dev 2017; 89:1441-1461. [PMID: 28661004 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
In 1989, Miller and Aloise challenged the prevailing belief that preschoolers tend to explain others' behavior in terms of external events or a person's physical attributes and have little understanding of psychological causes. That review documented preschoolers' understanding of, and even preference for, psychological causes as part of an emerging renaissance in developmental social-cognitive research. The present, updated review (97 articles, participant ages 3 months to 6 years) suggests the emergence of a transformative new perspective in which social-cognition is balanced between social and cognitive aspects rather than tilted toward cognition. Recent research on infants' awareness of mental states, young children's understanding of social categories and their judgments of the trustworthiness of informants, and cultural context reveals various ways in which preschoolers' social-causal reasoning is social.
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Orvell A, Kross E, Gelman SA. That's how "you" do it: Generic you expresses norms during early childhood. J Exp Child Psychol 2017; 165:183-195. [PMID: 28554739 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2017.04.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2017] [Accepted: 04/19/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Prior research indicates that children construe norms as general and construe preferences as individual. The current studies tested whether this expectation is built into how children interpret and use language. We focused on the pronoun you, which is ambiguous between a canonical interpretation (referring to the addressee) and a generic interpretation (referring to people in general). In Study 1, children (N=132, ages 3-10years) were asked a series of questions containing "you," referring to either descriptive norms (e.g., "What do you do with bikes?") or preferences (e.g., "What do you like to do with bikes?"). In Study 2, parents conversed with their children (N=28, ages 2-4years) about prescriptive norms (e.g., "What should you do with books?") and preferences (e.g., "What do you like about books?"). In both studies, children's choice of pronoun in their answer revealed whether they interpreted you in the questions as generic or canonical. Results indicated that children more often interpreted you as generic in the normative contexts (i.e., responded with generic you, e.g., "You read them") and as canonical in the preference contexts (i.e., responded with I, e.g., "I read them"). This pattern emerged by early preschool, providing the first evidence that the distinction between norms and preferences directs young children's interpretation and use of everyday language.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ethan Kross
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Roberts SO, Ho AK, Gelman SA. Group presence, category labels, and generic statements influence children to treat descriptive group regularities as prescriptive. J Exp Child Psychol 2017; 158:19-31. [PMID: 28167383 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2016.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2016] [Revised: 11/23/2016] [Accepted: 11/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Children use descriptive regularities of social groups (what is) to generate prescriptive judgments (what should be). We examined whether this tendency held when the regularities were introduced through group presence, category labels, or generic statements. Children (ages 4-9years, N=203) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions that manipulated how descriptive group regularities were presented: group presence (e.g., "These ones [a group of three individuals] eat this kind of berry"), category labels (e.g., "This [individual] Hibble eats this kind of berry"), generic statements (e.g., [showing an individual] "Hibbles eat this kind of berry"), or control (e.g., "This one [individual] eats this kind of berry"). Then, children saw conforming and non-conforming individuals and were asked to evaluate their behavior. As predicted, children evaluated non-conformity negatively in all conditions except the control condition. Together, these results suggest that minimal perceptual and linguistic cues provoke children to treat social groups as having normative force.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven O Roberts
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
| | - Arnold K Ho
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Susan A Gelman
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Roberts SO, Gelman SA, Ho AK. So It Is, So It Shall Be: Group Regularities License Children's Prescriptive Judgments. Cogn Sci 2016; 41 Suppl 3:576-600. [PMID: 27914116 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2015] [Revised: 06/26/2016] [Accepted: 07/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
When do descriptive regularities (what characteristics individuals have) become prescriptive norms (what characteristics individuals should have)? We examined children's (4-13 years) and adults' use of group regularities to make prescriptive judgments, employing novel groups (Hibbles and Glerks) that engaged in morally neutral behaviors (e.g., eating different kinds of berries). Participants were introduced to conforming or non-conforming individuals (e.g., a Hibble who ate berries more typical of a Glerk). Children negatively evaluated non-conformity, with negative evaluations declining with age (Study 1). These effects were replicable across competitive and cooperative intergroup contexts (Study 2) and stemmed from reasoning about group regularities rather than reasoning about individual regularities (Study 3). These data provide new insights into children's group concepts and have important implications for understanding the development of stereotyping and norm enforcement.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Arnold K Ho
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan
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21
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Rhodes M, Wellman H. Moral learning as intuitive theory revision. Cognition 2016; 167:191-200. [PMID: 27613004 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2016.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2016] [Revised: 06/29/2016] [Accepted: 08/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
We argue that moral learning, like much of conceptual development more generally, involves development and change in children's intuitive theories of the world. Children's intuitive theories involve coherent and abstract representations of the world, which point to domain-specific, unobservable causal-explanatory entities. From this perspective, children rely on intuitive sociological theories (in particular, an abstract expectation that group memberships constrain people's obligations), and their intuitive psychological theories (including expectations that mental states motivate individual behavior) to predict, explain, and evaluate morally-relevant action. Thus, moral learning involves development and change in each of these theories of the world across childhood, as well as developmental change in how children integrate information from these two intuitive theories. This perspective is supported by a series of research studies on young children's moral reasoning and learning, and compared to other developmental approaches, including more traditional forms of constructivism and more recent nativist perspectives.
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Nancekivell SE, Friedman O. "Because It's Hers": When Preschoolers Use Ownership in Their Explanations. Cogn Sci 2016; 41:827-843. [PMID: 26936795 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2015] [Revised: 11/19/2015] [Accepted: 12/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Young children show competence in reasoning about how ownership affects object use. In the present experiments, we investigate how influential ownership is for young children by examining their explanations. In three experiments, we asked 3- to 5-year-olds (N = 323) to explain why it was acceptable (Experiments 1-3) or unacceptable (Experiment 2 and 3) for a person to use an object. In Experiments 1 and 2, older preschoolers referenced ownership more than alternative considerations when explaining why it was acceptable or unacceptable for a person to use an object, even though ownership was not mentioned to them. In Experiment 3, ownership was mentioned to children. Here, younger preschoolers frequently referenced ownership when explaining unacceptability of using an object, but not when explaining why using it was acceptable. These findings suggest that ownership is influential in preschoolers' explanations about the acceptability of using objects, but that the scope of its influence increases with age.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ori Friedman
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo
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Abstract
Children adopt an inherence-based view of some social categories, viewing certain social categories as reflecting the inherent features of their members. Thinking of social categories in these terms contributes to prejudice and intergroup conflict. Thus, understanding what leads children to apply inherence-based views to particular categories could provide new direction for efforts to reduce these negative social phenomena.
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Chalik L, Rhodes M. The Communication of Naïve Theories of the Social World in Parent–Child Conversation. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2014.949722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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