Fairness or stereotypes? Young children's priorities when evaluating group exclusion and inclusion

Seventy-two children (35 4 1/2-year-olds and 37 5 1/2-year-olds), nearly evenly divided by gender, from European American (71%), Asian American (17%), and African American (12%) middle-class backgrounds, were individually interviewed about straightforward exclusion and inclusion for two gender-stereotypic peer-group contexts: activities (doll and truck play) and role-play (teacher and firefighter). All children evaluated straightforward exclusion based on gender (e.g., girls excluding a boy from doll play) as wrong and used moral reasons. Preliminary inclusion decisions in the activity contexts (choosing a boy or a girl to join the group) were based on stereotypic expectations, particularly for younger children. Given the opportunity to weigh alternative considerations, however, all children gave priority to fairness over stereotypic expectations in both multifaceted inclusion peer-group contexts.