2-083 - Developing a Concept of Social Power

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

An important social cognitive task of childhood is to conceptualize social power, which is ubiquitous in human social relations at both the individual and group level. Developing a concept of social power allows one to recognize relational dynamics, gain understanding of behaviors appropriate for different situations, predict others’ behaviors, and know which social alliances will benefit them. Despite the importance of conceptualizing social power for successfully navigating the social world, little research has been conducted on its development. Some studies suggest that even preverbal infants may represent power and dominance relations between two individuals (Thomsen et al., 2011; Mascaro & Csibra, 2012). Yet, little is known about the content of children’s representations of social power, and how their representations of social power relate to their social reasoning.

The studies presented in this symposium introduce new research that focuses on how children begin to recognize both nonverbal and contextual cues to social power, and how their understanding of a multi-faceted concept of social power emerges. The first paper examines children’s attention to nonverbal cues in determining social power. The second paper explores how children conceptualize social power, and when in development they become sensitive to the various manifestations of power. The third paper is a cross-cultural examination of children’s concepts of social power (namely, status) as it relates to their representations of social groups. Our discussant is a leading world expert in conceptual development and children’s social categorization.

Sub Unit

• Cognitive Processes

Chair

• Selin Gulgoz, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Discussant

• Elizabeth Spelke, Harvard Univ

Individual Presentations

• Children Infer Social Power from Nonverbal Behavior - Presenting Author: Elizabeth Brey, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Rachel King, Univ of Wisc-Madison; Kristin Shutts, UW-Madison

• Children’s Conceptualization of the Different Manifestations of Social Power - Presenting Author: Selin Gulgoz, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Susan A Gelman, Univ of Michigan

• Implicit Internalization of Status Hierarchy Across Cultures - Presenting Author: Yarrow C Dunham, Yale