Suchergebnisse

Books reviewed:Mark Bennett, (Ed.) Developmental Psychology: Achievements and Prospects

Despite widespread concern about the possibly deleterious effects of television and sex-role stereotypes upon young viewers, little research has been conducted to investigate how children perceive stereotypes in the medium. In this study, seventeen children aged 4½ and 9½ are interviewed individually and asked to discuss features of a series of highly stereotyped male and female behaviors shown on television. The children display considerable knowledge of sex-role conventions and reveal clear ability to relate this to their accounts of the excerpts presented. Children are able to infer feelings and motives appropriately, and offer plausible accounts of "off-screen" behavior by using their existing sex-role knowledge. The findings are discussed with reference to developmental work in script theory, and it is stressed that television "effects" upon the young are best understood in the context of models of developing social understanding.

AbstractThis experiment tested predictions from social identity development theory (SIDT, Nesdale, 1999), that children's tendency to show out‐group prejudice depends on the strength of their in‐group identification and/or their perception of threat from the out‐group. Anglo‐Australian children (N= 480) aged 6, 7, or 9 years were assigned to a high‐status team and their identification with the in‐group (high vs. low) was manipulated together with threat from the out‐group (present vs. absent). The members of the out‐group were revealed to be of the same (Anglo‐Australian) or different (Pacific Islander) ethnicity to the in‐group. Results supported the SIDT predictions. In addition, consistent with socio‐cognitive theory (ST, Aboud, 1988), dislike for the out‐group at 6 years gave way to increasingly neutral reactions by 9 years of age. Ethnic composition of the out‐group did not impact differentially on liking but it did affect the children's desire to change groups. Strongly identified children were reluctant to leave their group regardless of the ethnicity of the out‐group, whereas children with low in‐group identification were more willing to change into a same‐ than into a different‐ethnicity out‐group. It is concluded that both social identity and social cognitive processes are implicated in the development of prejudice in middle childhood.

AbstractA minimal group study examined the effect of peer group norms on children's direct and indirect bullying intentions. Prior to an inter‐group drawing competition, children (N = 85) aged seven and nine years were assigned to a group that had a norm of out‐group dislike or out‐group liking. Results indicated that, regardless of group norms, the children's attitudes were more positive towards the in‐group vs. the out‐group. Children's bullying intentions were greater when the in‐group had a norm of out‐group dislike vs. out‐group liking, the children were younger rather than older, and the bullying was indirect vs. direct. A three‐way interaction showed that the in‐group norms had a larger effect on the younger children's direct rather than indirect bullying intentions, but a larger effect on the older children's indirect rather than direct bullying intentions. Implications for understanding school bullying intentions and behaviour are discussed.