Like me and not like me
Today I present two studies of how children respond to others. First, Sehl, Denison & Friedman (2023) published “Local or foreign? Flexibility in children’s preference for similar others” Developmental Psychology. Here’s the edited abstract and impact statement:
Children have a robust social preference for people similar to them, like those who share their language, accent, and race. In the present research, we show that this preference can diminish when children consider who they want to learn about. Across three experiments, 4- to 6-year-olds (total N = 160; 74 female, 86 male, from the Waterloo region in Canada, a predominantly White and middle-class region) and adults (N = 103) saw pairs of characters. One character was from nearby and had characteristics typical of the participating child’s location (e.g., playing soccer), whereas the other character was from far away and had characteristics atypical of children’s location (e.g., playing hurling). In Experiment 1, children had no preference when judging who they liked better, but preferred foreign characters when judging who they wanted to learn about. Experiments 2 and 3 followed up by using procedures where participants were not told anything about the characters besides whether they were local or foreign. Children and adults preferred local characters when choosing who they liked, but preferred local characters less when choosing who to learn about. These findings show that children’s preferences for similar others are flexible and depend on the judgment they are making.
Similarity is a potent force in children’s social preferences. Although there are exceptions, children typically like and trust people who are similar to them, compared with people who are dissimilar. We show that these preferences diminish in children’s curiosity about others. That is, children do not strongly prefer similar others when assessing who to learn about. This shows that children’s similarity-based preferences are flexible and may have a rational basis.
I love this study because it reminds us that there is a difference between what we like and what we want to learn about. The next study looks more closely at adolescents’ attitudes toward those who are different. Baumert, Jansen, Becker, Neumann, Köller & Maaz (2023) published “Individually Endorsed and Socially Shared Normative Beliefs on Acculturation: Resources and risk factors for academic and psychosocial adjustment in mid-adolescence” in Journal of Educational Psychology. I’ve edited the abstract and impact statement with some information in bold:
This article examines the extent to which normative beliefs on acculturation constitute (a) individual resources and risk factors for adolescents facing developmental tasks and (b) institutional norms that define developmental milieus in secondary schools. To what extent do egalitarianism, multiculturalism, assimilationism, and segregationism help or hinder academic and psychosocial adjustment in mid-adolescence? We examined how both individually endorsed beliefs and socially shared beliefs at the 10th-grade cohort level relate to students' academic performance, educational and occupational aspirations, motivational and emotional attachment to school, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. Data came from a random sample of 15- to 17-year-olds in Berlin, Germany, assessed at the end of Grades 9 and 10 (N = 1,992). Multivariate analyses identified egalitarianism and multiculturalism as the most prevalent acculturation beliefs, forming a combined belief pattern that pairs recognition of equality with respect for diversity. At the individual level, this belief pattern was positively related to academic and psychosocial adjustment. Assimilationism beliefs were associated with higher motivational and emotional attachment to school in both minority and majority students. Segregationism beliefs were associated with higher self-esteem in all adolescents regardless of background, but with lower levels of academic performance in immigrant youth. At the grade cohort level, a single bipolar factor (egalitarianism/multiculturalism vs. assimilationism/segregationism) described the institutional diversity culture. An environment characterized by egalitarianism/multiculturalism beliefs was positively associated with motivational and emotional attachment to school but not related to academic adjustment or psychological well-being.
Acculturation beliefs reflect normative ideas about how people of different origins can mutually adapt and thrive in diverse societies. Four types of acculturation beliefs are distinguished: egalitarianism/colorblindness, multiculturalism, assimilationism, and segregationism. This study shows that even in a country like Germany, which is considered relatively hostile to immigration, a combination of egalitarianism and multiculturalism beliefs is the predominant pattern among young people in metropolitan areas. This belief pattern, which pairs recognition of equality with respect for diversity, seems to constitute an individual resource that is positively related to academic and social adjustment in schools and to psychological well-being among young people with and without an immigrant background. At the school level, the combination of egalitarianism and multiculturalism beliefs defines a diversity culture that is positively associated with motivational and emotional attachment to school.
I thought this was a nice extension of the first study in illustrating that egalitarianism and multiculturalism beliefs are most often associated with welcoming school communities.