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Something About the Way You Speak: A Meta‐analysis on Children’s Linguistic‐based Social Preferences
Author(s) -
Spence Jessica L.,
Hornsey Matthew J.,
Imuta Kana
Publication year - 2021
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.13548
Subject(s) - psychology , stress (linguistics) , preference , linguistics , first language , developmental psychology , philosophy , economics , microeconomics
There is growing interest in the role of linguistic cues (accents, dialects, language) in driving children’s social preferences. This meta‐analysis integrated 131 effect sizes involving 2,680 infants and children from 2 days old to 11 years. Overall, children prefer native‐accent, native‐dialect, and native‐language speakers over non‐native counterparts ( d = 0.57). Meta‐regression highlighted that bilinguals ( d = 0.93) do not exhibit less native‐speaker preference compared to monolinguals ( d = 0.62). Children displayed stronger preferences based on accent ( d = 1.04) than dialect ( d = 0.44) and language ( d = 0.39). Children’s cultural background, exposure to non‐native speech, age, and preference measure were not significant moderators. The data are discussed in light of several theoretical explanations for when and why children show linguistic‐based social preferences.