Leveraging Developmental Science to Advance Social Justice

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Developmental science has the potential to move society towards equity, as the field is fundamentally interested in examining how children learn about the world around them. Understanding what and how children learn about their social world, particularly as it relates to the development of intergroup attitudes, identity, and morality, provides insights into points for intervention. This symposium brings together four papers that consider how developmental mechanisms might be leveraged to support equity-minded individuals across the lifespan.
Paper 1 investigates how children reason about wealth inequality, finding that children believe poor people experience more pain than wealthy people and are consequently more willing to provide aid to the poor. Paper 2 finds that an intervention improves children’s attitudes regarding peer exclusion from pre-test to post-test, specifically showing that children who use more moral reasoning are more likely to view peer exclusion as wrong, be more empathetic, and have increased desires to play with diverse peers. Paper 3 examines how parent-child conversations might differ between White and Black people, showing that Black parents use more color-conscious messaging than White parents, but that White parents use less color-blind messaging the more they perceive racism to be a problem in the United States. Finally, Paper 4 examines how having conversations with peers about social justice issues creates space for critical reflection and racial identity meaning-making for young adults of color, but not young White adults.
The panelists will highlight how fundamental theories and methodologies within developmental science can be levers to promote social equity.

Sub Unit

• Diversity, Equity & Social Justice

Chairs

• Ryan Lei, Haverford College

• Riley N. Sims, University of Maryland - College Park

Individual Presentations

• Children Gradually Perceive the Poor as Experiencing More Pain: Evidence from the U.S. and China - Presenting Author: Yuhang Shu, University of Virginia - Charlottesville; Vanessa Lazaro, University of Chicago; Huisi Li, Georgia Institute of Technology; Lin Bian, University of Chicago

• Moral Reasoning Mediates Children’s Evaluations of Social Exclusion, Empathy, and Own Desires for Intergroup Friendships - Presenting Author: Riley N. Sims, University of Maryland - College Park; Arvid Samuelson, University of Maryland - College Park; Jacquelyn Glidden, University of Maryland - College Park; Melanie A. Killen, University of Maryland - College Park

• The Role of Parent-child Conversations About Race in Children’s Emerging Racial Biases - Presenting Author: Tobi Britton, New York University; Jonah Brenner; Michael Thomas Rizzo, New York University; Marjorie Rhodes, New York University

• Race Talk During the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election: Emerging Adults’ Critical Consciousness and Racial Identity in Context - Presenting Author: Ursula Moffitt, Wheaton College Massachusetts; Leoandra Onnie Rogers, Northwestern University; Yola Mzizi, Northwestern University; Elana Charlson, Northwestern University