Children’s ethnic prejudice: A comparison of approaches

Two studies assessed predictions from sociocognitive theory (SCT, Aboud, 1988) and social identity development theory (SIDT, Nesdale, 1999a) concerning the development of children’s ethnic prejudice, with 8, 10 and 12 year old Anglo-Australian children participating in the first study, and 6, 9 and 12 year olds participating in the second study. In both studies, the children listened to a story about an ingroup Australian boy and an outgroup Vietnamese (Study 1)/Chinese boy (Study 2) who displayed equal numbers of stereotype-consistent (Study 1)/positive traits (Study 2) and stereotype-inconsistent (Study 1)/negative traits (Study 2). The results of the two studies revealed that, as they increased in age, the children remembered more of the ingroup character’s stereotype-inconsistent/negative traits versus stereotype-consistent/positive traits, and they liked him less. In contrast, with increasing age, the children remembered more of the outgroup character’s stereotype-consistent/positive traits versus stereotype-inconsistent/negative traits and they liked him more. The results are discussed in terms of their greater support for SIDT versus SCT