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Do infants show social preferences for people differing in race?
Katherine D Kinzler1, Elizabeth S Spelke
1Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, 5848 S. University Ave., Chicago, IL 60637, USA. kinzler@uchicago.edu
Cognition
|February 22, 2011
Summary
Infants do not show race-based social preferences. However, children aged 2.5 to 5 years develop these preferences, unlike younger infants. This research explores early social cognition and group identity development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Social cognition
- Evolutionary psychology
Background:
- Infants form social preferences based on language and accent.
- Understanding the development of race-based social preferences is crucial for developmental psychology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether infants and young children develop social preferences based on race.
- To determine the age at which race-based social preferences emerge.
- To compare race-based preferences with language-based preferences in social choices.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: 10-month-old infants' toy selection from own- and other-race individuals.
- Experiment 2: 2.5-year-old children's toy distribution to own- and other-race individuals.
- Experiment 3: 5-year-old children's social preferences for own- and other-race individuals.
Main Results:
- 10-month-old infants and 2.5-year-old children showed no preference between own- and other-race individuals.
- 5-year-old children exhibited explicit social preferences for own-race individuals.
- Race-based social preferences emerge between 2.5 and 5 years of age.
Conclusions:
- Social preferences based on race emerge later in childhood, not in infancy.
- Language remains a significant factor in infant social preferences, unlike race.
- These findings contribute to understanding the development of group identity and intergroup relations.
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