Intentionality, Age, and Congruence Affect Young Children’s Categorization of Essentialized Groups

• In Event: What's in a group? New Directions for Children's Essentialist Perceptions

Abstract

Background: As children navigate a complex social world, they learn rules for guiding their social categorizations. One method that children use to identify group membership is a framework of mutual intentionality (MI): a person wants to join a group and that group wants that person to join as well (Noyes & Dunham, 2017). Past work suggests that this MI framework is only applied to categorization of coalitional social groups (e.g., minimal groups) and not to essentialized groups (e.g., gender in a gender-change paradigm).

In a preregistered set of studies, we further examine the application of the MI framework on two essentialist groups—gender and race. As with previous work, we expect participant age and intentionality type to predict group joining. Furthermore, in applying the MI framework to essentialized groups, we also expect that congruence between the social group and the individual potential member, as well as participant gender and race, may moderate group joining.

Methods: In Study 1a, (N = 167; 47 3-year-olds, 61 4-year-olds, 59 5-year-olds; 47.9% female, 70.1% White) and 1b (6-8 year-olds, target N = 180), children were presented with boy and girl groups and individual characters that varied by gender. In this within-subjects design (3x3x2), children were also given three types of intentionality (individual only, group only, and mutual) and were asked if the new individual boy or girl character could join the boy or girl group (see Figure 1). Following the same design, Study 2a (N = 203; 65 3-year-olds, 70 4-year-olds, 69 5-year-olds; 57.1% female, 52.2% White) and 2b (6-8 year-olds, target N = 180) test this same question using racial group membership (Black and White groups). Studies 1a and 2a are completed and data collection for studies 1b and 2b to be concluded by January 2021 via online Zoom calls. This research has not been submitted to another conference (COVID-19 note).

Results: For study 1a, a binary logistic regression model tested the effects of participant age, gender, intentionality, and stimuli gender congruence on the likelihood of perceiving group membership. The model was statically significant χ2(13) = 314.290, p < .001, explained 20.3% of the variance of group joining, and correctly classified 71.1% of cases. An interaction between intentionality and congruence, χ2(1) = 34.261, p <.001, suggests that children are more inclusive when mutual intentions are present and the gender identities of the group and individual are congruent (e.g., a boy joining a boy group; see Figure 2). Furthermore, an interaction between age and congruence, χ2(1) = 6.42, p =.011, suggests that children endorse this congruent group joining increasingly more with age. For Study 2a, a binary logistic regression model on of participant age, race, intentionality, and congruence was also statistically significant χ2(13) = 71.229 p < .001. Interactions between intentionality and congruence, χ2(1) = 5.413, p <.001, found that when mutual intentions were used, children were more likely to recognize category membership for both same-race and cross-race groups. These finding suggests an MI framework may be cognitively applicable in determining essentialized group membership.

Group Authors

Brenda Straka, Duke University
Adam Stanaland, Duke University
Michael Tomasello, Duke University
Sarah Gaither, Duke University

Authors

• Brenda Straka, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Presenting Author

• Adam Stanaland, New York University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Michael Tomasello, Duke University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sarah Elizabeth Gaither, Duke Univeristy
  Non-Presenting Author