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Children's Perceptions of Economic Groups in a Context of Limited Access to Opportunities
Author(s) -
Elenbaas Laura,
Killen Melanie
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.13024
Subject(s) - selfishness , psychology , perception , context (archaeology) , inequality , social psychology , developmental psychology , geography , mathematical analysis , mathematics , archaeology , neuroscience
Children ( N = 267, ages 8–14 years, M = 11.61 years, middle to upper‐middle income) made predictions regarding groups of same‐aged peers from high‐wealth and low‐wealth backgrounds. The context involved granting access to a special opportunity. From middle childhood to early adolescence children increasingly expected both high‐ and low‐wealth groups to want access to opportunities for their own group. However, children viewed high‐wealth groups as motivated in part by selfishness and low‐wealth groups as concerned in part with broader economic inequality. Finally, the higher children's family income, the more they expected group‐serving tendencies. These findings revealed children's perceptions of exclusive preferences between economic groups, negative stereotypes about high‐wealth children, and awareness of some of the constraints faced by low‐wealth children.