Children's Understanding of Group Dynamics: Group Norms and Group Membership

Session Type: Flash Talk Session

Abstract

Presenters in this flash talk session will discuss how children use people's adherence to group norms when thinking about groups, and the exceptions to this process. Paper 1 tested whether children expect people who engage in costly actions on behalf of a group to be more deeply committed to the group, finding that children and adults inferred that costly actions convey a greater desire to be in a group. Paper 2 explored how children's beliefs about a norm are influenced by how common the behavior is, finding that by middle childhood, children readily update their normative beliefs and behaviors based on how common or uncommon a behavior is. Paper 3 examined whether children's tendency to infer internalist explanations for gender differences can be overridden by emphasizing alternative forms of explanation, finding that structural cues can help children think about the structural factors underlying gender disparities, but do not reduce children’s preference to play with gender-conforming peers. Paper 4 investigated children’s consideration of disability status when evaluating norm violations, finding that children consider physical disabilities by 5-years-old, but may not fully understand cognitive disabilities until later in development.

Sub Unit

• Social Cognition

Individual Presentations

• Do children interpret costs as signals of commitment to a group? - Presenting Author: Emily Rachel Gonsier Gerdin, Yale University; Yarrow C Dunham, Yale University

• Children's injunctive norm beliefs are influenced by descriptive norm information - Presenting Author: Paul Deutchman, Boston College; Julia Marshall, Boston College; Young-Eun Lee, Columbia University; Felix Warneken, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor; Katherine McAuliffe, Boston College

• Testing the Limits of Structural Thinking About Gender - Presenting Author: Xin Yang, Yale University; Ragnhild Naas, University of Aarhus; Yarrow C Dunham, Yale University

• Children’s Sensitivity to Physical and Cognitive Disability Status when Judging Norm Violations - Fransisca Ting, University of Toronto; Presenting Author: Aarti Bodas, Boston University; Lana Harfouche, Boston University; Deb Kelemen, Boston University

Moderator

• Kathleen H. Corriveau, Boston University