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Children Use Wealth Cues to Evaluate Others.
Kristin Shutts1, Elizabeth L Brey1, Leah A Dornbusch1
1University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Psychology, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America.
Plos One
|March 3, 2016
Summary
Young children learn to associate wealth with positive traits, influencing their social evaluations and behaviors. These biases emerge early, even in preschoolers, impacting how they perceive and interact with others.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Cognition
- Child Psychology
Background:
- Wealth disparities are common in society and influence adult social judgments.
- Previous research has not fully explored how children perceive and utilize wealth cues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether young children use societal wealth cues to guide their social evaluations and inferences.
- To determine the age range and scope of wealth cue influence on children's attitudes.
Main Methods:
- Three studies involving children aged 4-9 years.
- Participants were presented with various wealth-related stimuli and assessed for preferences, inferences, and behavioral responses.
- Diverse racial and socioeconomic backgrounds were included.
Main Results:
- Children as young as 4 years showed preferences for individuals associated with high-wealth cues.
- Wealth indicators influenced children's inferences about competence and popularity.
- Children utilized a wide range of wealth cues, and biases were not limited by socioeconomic status.
Conclusions:
- Social class markers significantly influence children's evaluations, inferences, and actions from an early age.
- These findings highlight the early development of social class awareness and its impact on social cognition.
- Further research is needed to understand the long-term implications of these early-developing biases.
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