Chapter 9
Social Stereotyping and Prejudice in Children
Insights from Novel Group Studies
Rebecca S. Bigler,
Meagan M. Patterson,
Rebecca S. Bigler
Search for more papers by this authorMeagan M. Patterson
Search for more papers by this authorRebecca S. Bigler,
Meagan M. Patterson,
Rebecca S. Bigler
Search for more papers by this authorMeagan M. Patterson
Search for more papers by this authorBook Editor(s):Adam Rutland,
Drew Nesdale,
Christia Spears Brown,
Adam Rutland
Search for more papers by this authorDrew Nesdale
Search for more papers by this authorChristia Spears Brown
Search for more papers by this authorSummary
In this chapter the author focuses on the origins of social stereotyping and prejudice. Social stereotypes and prejudice affect many facets of children's cognition and behavior, including their ability to remember information; occupational judgments and goals; academic self-efficacy, aspirations, and performance; peer relationships; and activity or object preferences. Most developmentalists now believe that it is impossible to understand stereotyping and prejudice without attention to the cognitive skills that children bring to understanding their social environments. In author's own work, they have drawn on Piagetian theory in thinking about the developmental origins of stereotyping and prejudice. A relevant concept drawn from Piagetian theory is constructivism. Three core processes are hypothesized to contribute to the formation of stereotypes and prejudice: establishment of the psychological salience (EPS) of person attributes, categorization of encountered individuals (CEI) by salient dimensions, and development of stereotypes and prejudices (DSP) of salient social groups.
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