The ontogeny of the motivation that underlies in-group bias
- Author(s)
- David Buttelmann, Robert Böhm
- Abstract
Humans demonstrate a clear bias toward members of their own group over members of other groups in a variety of ways. It has been argued that the motivation underlying this in-group bias in adults may be favoritism toward one’s own group (in-group love), derogation of the out-group (out-group hate), or both. Although some studies have demonstrated in-group bias among children and infants, nothing is known about the underlying motivations of this bias. Using a novel game, we found that in-group love is already present in children of preschool age and can motivate in-group-biased behavior across childhood. In contrast, out-group hate develops only after a child’s sixth birthday and is a sufficient motivation for in-group-biased behavior from school age onward. These results help to better identify the motivation that underlies in-group-biased behavior in children.
- Organisation(s)
- External organisation(s)
- Universität Erfurt, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
- Journal
- Psychological Science
- Volume
- 25
- Pages
- 921-927
- No. of pages
- 7
- ISSN
- 0956-7976
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613516802
- Publication date
- 04-2014
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 501021 Social psychology
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychology(all)
- Portal url
- https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/the-ontogeny-of-the-motivation-that-underlies-ingroup-bias(8c788e9a-5470-470c-9398-9c6522c1089a).html