Children’s Biased Preference for Information About In and Out-Groups

Children’s intergroup attitudes arguably reflect different construals of in and out-groups, whereby the former are viewed as composed of unique individuals and the latter of homogeneous members. In three studies, we investigated the scope of information (individual vs. category) Jewish-Israeli 5 and 8-yearolds prefer to receive about “real” in-group (“Jews”) and out-group members (“Arabs” and “Scots”) (Study 1, N = 64); the scope of information Jewish and Arab Israeli 8-year-olds prefer to receive about minimal in and out-groups (Study 2, N = 64); and how providing such information affects children’s intergroup attitudes (Study 3, N = 96). The main findings were that (a) 8-year-olds requested category information more about out-groups than in-groups, and vice-versa regarding individual information— for both, “real” and minimal groups, and (b) providing individual information about a “conflict” outgroup reduced attitudinal biases. These findings highlight children’s differential construal of in and outgroups and suggest ways for remedying biases toward out-groups.