Focusing attention on others' negative emotions reduces the effect of social relationships on children's distributive behaviors

The present study investigates whether directing five- to six-year-old children's attention to hypothetical resource recipients that included familiar and non-familiar people would affect their favoritism toward a familiar person, as reflected in how they allocated resources. In Experiment 1, we instructed participants to give one of several stickers to another person or keep all the stickers for themselves. Under the control conditions, participants more frequently gave stickers to friends than to non-friends. However, when asked about others' emotions, they distributed stickers equally among friends and non-friends. Therefore, focusing on others' thoughts reduced participants' favoritism toward friends. Experiment 2 tested whether focusing on both emotional valences would affect favoritism toward a familiar person, as reflected in children's resource distribution choices. Experiment 2 was identical to Experiment 1, except we asked participants about the other person's emotional valence. When asked about others' negative emotions, participants distributed the stickers equally between themselves and others. However, when asked about others' positive emotions, they distributed more stickers to friends than to non-friends. Neither others' emotional valence nor group status affected the perceived intensity of their emotion or the participant's emotional state. These results suggest that children's favoritism toward friends can be reduced by encouraging them to think about others' negative emotional states.

Evaluating an inclusive program for promoting equal-status participation in classrooms with high sociolinguistic diversity: diversity valuation and multilingual cooperative activities

Introduction

The inclusion of students with diverse heritage languages is an emerging issue in all OECD countries due to the global rise in international migration. With regard to their large cultural and linguistic heterogeneity, primary school classes in the French-speaking region of Switzerland are extraordinary grounds to develop inclusive teaching in context of high diversity. This research-action aims to enhance students' status among their peers and promote equal-status participation in academic activities in such classes. The research perspective focuses on valuing diversity within classes and emphasizing students' linguistic competence through cooperative activities.

Methods

The tested inclusive program places value on linguistic diversity and proposes multilingual cooperative activities that involve students' family languages and require the contributions of all students. The research was conducted over the course of a school year, involving 3rd-4th grade students. It compared the evolution students' status among peers (being chosen as a groupmate for play and work) from the beginning to the end of the school year in four classes with the inclusive program (N = 77) and four control classes without the inclusive program (N = 62).

Results

The results indicated expected changes in status: status increased in classes with the inclusive program, while it decreased in classes without the program. Moreover, the intervention specifically supported the status of vulnerable pupils. In classes with the inclusive program, students with initially low status experienced the greatest improvement, whereas in control classes, there was no correlation between initial status and changes in status. At the beginning of the school year, across all classes, students with low status participated passively, experiencing higher levels of exclusion and displaying more discrete behavior, highlighting potential initial status-problems issues. This pattern persisted in control classes without the inclusive program, where low-status students were more likely to remain passive, while initially high- status students were more likely to become leaders. In contrast, with the inclusive program, the relationship between status and participation diminished by the end of the year.

Discussion

These findings suggest that the inclusive program contributed to reducing status-related problems and promoting more equal-status participation.

Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Education and Individual Student Development: Understanding the Full Picture in the Era of School Choice

A primary through-line of the research literature on the correlates of structural diversity in education has focused on intergroup outcomes, including prejudice reduction and improving attitudes toward racial and ethnic out-groups. Over the past two decades, advances in theory have illustrated how individuals may cognitively adapt to ongoing interactions with diverse others, informing new investigations into the potentially beneficial effects of educational diversity for individual development outside the intergroup context and beyond the impacts of more equitable resource distribution. The current article summarizes the state of research on links between children and youth’s experiences in racially and ethnically diverse schools and classrooms and their individual development in academic, social-emotional, and executive function domains. Overall, the emerging research on these individual effects is promising. Implications within the context of increasing support for school choice are discussed.

Assessing and Optimizing Socio-Moral Reasoning Skills: Findings From the MorALERT Serious Video Game

Background

Social cognition and competence are a key part of daily interactions and essential for satisfying relationships and well-being. Pediatric neurological and psychological conditions can affect social cognition and require assessment and remediation of social skills. To adequately approximate the complex and dynamic nature of real-world social interactions, innovative tools are needed. The aim of this study was to document the performance of adolescents on two versions of a serious video game presenting realistic, everyday, socio-moral conflicts, and to explore whether their performance is associated with empathy or sense of presence, factors known to influence social cognition.

Methods

Participants (12–17 years, M = 14.39; SD = 1.35) first completed a pre-test measure of socio-moral reasoning based on three dilemmas from a previously validated computer task. Then, they either played an evaluative version (n = 24) or an adaptive (n = 33) version of a video game presenting nine social situations in which they made socio-moral decisions and provided justifications. In the evaluative version, participants’ audio justifications were recorded verbatim and coded manually to obtain a socio-moral reasoning maturity score. In the adaptive version (AV), tailored feedback and social reinforcements were provided based on participant responses. An automatic coding algorithm developed using artificial intelligence was used to determine socio-moral maturity level in real-time and to provide a basis for the feedback and reinforcements in the game. All participants then completed a three-dilemma post-test assessment.

Results

Those who played the adaptive version showed improved SMR across the pre-test, in-game and post-test moral maturity scores, F(1.97,63.00) = 9.81, p_HF < 0.001, ϵ² = 0.21, but those who played the Evaluative version did not. Socio-moral reasoning scores from both versions combined did not correlate with empathy or sense of presence during the game, though results neared significance. The study findings support preliminary validation of the game as a promising method for assessing and remediating social skills during adolescence.

Witnessed inclusion improves identification of Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiles

Social exclusion threatens a person's need to belong and prompts them to behave in ways that often facilitate reaffiliation. For adults, direct exclusion increases attention to social information and facial cues, including an enhanced identification of Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiles. Furthermore, inclusion can buffer or mitigate the effects of exclusion. This study investigated children's (N = 44) and adults' (N = 52) sensitivity to perceptual changes in smiles following witnessed inclusion and exclusion and inclusion's mitigating and buffering effects on perceptual abilities. Contrary to our predictions, participants in our study demonstrated improved accuracy after witnessing inclusion, rather than exclusion, and showed no buffering or mitigating effects of inclusion. This contradiction with previous findings points to a further need to explore the effects of witnessed versus direct inclusion and exclusion, especially if witnessed inclusion and exclusion have the ability to impact perception and shape our behavior.

The development of awareness of racism in adolescents of color over 4 years of high school

This mixed methods, longitudinal study considered the developing awareness of racism of adolescents of color over 4 years of high school. A series of latent growth models were fit to consider participating adolescents' (n = 643) developing awareness of interpersonal and institutional forms of racism over five waves of surveys. Additionally, four waves of interviews with a subset of adolescents (n = 70) were analyzed through a multistep process consistent with qualitative research methods that seek to balance etic/outsider and emic/insider perspectives Participating adolescents demonstrated significant, linear growth in their awareness of interpersonal and systemic forms of racism between middle and late adolescence. Participating adolescents also most frequently cited examples of racism in the systemic domain of power to demonstrate their understanding of racism, and their invocation of examples of systemic racism grew more frequent as they advanced through high school. The present study revealed that, on average, adolescents' awareness of racism increases significantly between middle and late adolescence, but also that there is considerable heterogeneity in the ways that adolescents of color recognize and understand racism.

“We’re All Equal” But Not Really: Perceptions of Racial Inequity Among Racial-Ethnic Minoritized Youth in the U.S

Racial-ethnic inequity is deeply entrenched in U.S. social systems, yet adolescents’ voices and understanding around inequity are not often directly examined. The current qualitative study uses focus group data from African American ( n = 21), Chinese- ( n = 17), Indian- ( n = 13), and Mexican- ( n = 17) origin adolescents ( Mage = 12.93 years; SD = 1.23; 51% boys) to provide insight on how youth navigate their attitudes and beliefs about these issues. Using a racial-ethnic socialization lens, we explore proximal (e.g., parents, peers, teachers) and distal (e.g., media, society) ways in which adolescents come to understand racial-ethnic inequity. Three themes characterized adolescents’ discussions. School diversity, of peers and of thought, and messages around egalitarianism were two prominent influences on their perceptions. A third theme related to perceptions of social hierarchies, which appeared to be shaped by stereotypes, peer interactions, and ideas about inequity itself. Emergent themes suggest that the school context is a particularly salient social setting that encompasses multiple sources of socialization (e.g., teachers, classmates, academics, climate), and parents, peers, and the media also play prominent roles.

Developmental Prevention of Prejudice: Conceptual Issues, Evidence-Based Designing, and Outcome Results

This article reviews conceptual and empirical issues on the developmental prevention of prejudice in childhood and adolescence. Developmental prejudice prevention is defined as interventions that intentionally change and promote intergroup attitudes and behavior by systematically recognizing theories and empirical results on the development of prejudice in young people. After presenting a general conception of designing evidence-based interventions, we will discuss the application of this model in the field of developmental prejudice prevention. This includes the legitimation, a developmental concept of change, and the derivation of intervention content and implementation. Finally, we summarized recent evaluations results by reviewing meta-analytical evidence of programs and discuss important issues of future research and practice.

Shaping children's racial bias through interpersonal movement

The early emergence of racial biases points to the urgent need to understand how interpersonal experiences might shape them. We examined whether interpersonal movement shapes racial biases among 4- to 6-year-old Chinese children who had no prior contact with Black people. In Experiment 1 (N = 134), children played a musical game, moving either in or out of synchrony with a Chinese or Black adult. In Experiment 2 (N = 30), children were merely exposed to a Black adult. Across the two experiments, we found that synchronous movement increased children's feeling of social closeness toward their movement partner to a greater extent than asynchronous movement regardless of the partner's race. After moving in or out of synchrony with the Chinese adult, synchrony selectively increased children's explicit positive pro-own-race bias. However, after moving in or out of synchrony with the Black adult, both movement styles reduced explicit anti-other-race bias. Experiment 2 ruled out mere exposure to an other-race person as a driving factor for these effects. Our results suggest that musical engagement may be a promising intervention for reducing negative intergroup biases.

Longitudinal evaluation of friendship project: A multicultural – antiracist program for elementary school children

This study presents the results of the evaluation of Friendship Project-Greek version (FP-GR), a school based multicultural and anti-racist program aiming to develop intercultural skills and positive intergroup relationships, as well as familiarize and sensitize children with refugees’ life circumstances and difficulties. The aim of the study was to adapt FP in the Greek context and evaluate its longitudinal effectiveness in Greek students. The sample of the present research consisted of 314 children aged 9–12 years from six elementary schools in Athens and Crete, Greece. Students were randomly assigned to condition (intervention or control group) and the effectiveness of the program was examined through three measurements (before, at the end of the intervention and 3 months later). Data analyses (Repeated measures ANCOVA’s, Confirmatory Factor Analyses) were conducted using SPSS 25 and Mplusv.8.0. Results showed that FP-GR influenced participants’ general attitudes towards refugees, affected their xenophobic and intolerant attitudes but did not seem to have any significant impact on participants’ altruism. These results provide initial evidence that the FP-GR is an effective school-based prejudice-reduction program that promotes inclusive education for refugee-background elementary school children. Suggestions for the improvement of specific elements of FP-GR are also provided.

Don’t hurt my outgroup friend: A multifaceted form of imagined contact promotes intentions to counteract bullying

A growing body of research has shown that imagined intergroup contact can improve outgroup attitudes. The aim of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of a multifaceted form of imagined contact in counteracting bullying in school children, and additionally to test the underlying processes of this effect. Two hundred and fifteen Italian elementary school children took part in a 3-week intervention, where they were asked to imagine a scenario in which they become friends with an unknown disabled child, interact in various social settings, and react to forms of discrimination toward the newly acquired friend. After each session, they discussed collectively what they had imagined. The dependent measures were administered 1 week after the last session. Results revealed that inclusion of an outgroup member in the self mediated the effect of imagined contact on intentions to counteract social exclusion and bullying of disabled children, as well as helping intentions. Imagined contact also promoted greater willingness for outgroup contact via more positive outgroup attitudes and empathy. Our findings are important in delineating new forms of imagined contact, and understanding ways to promote behaviors that defend victims of social exclusion and bullying in school environments.

The development of children's epistemic beliefs across the early years of elementary school

BACKGROUND

A growing body of research shows that the beliefs we hold about the nature of knowing and knowledge (epistemic beliefs) may mediate moral reasoning. However, a limitation of much of the research in the area of epistemic beliefs is the lack of a longitudinal approach.

AIMS

The study investigated longitudinal changes in Australian elementary school children's beliefs about knowing and knowledge (epistemic beliefs) across three judgement domains (personal taste, ambiguous facts, and moral values).

SAMPLE

The participants in this longitudinal study were tracked from Year 1 through to Year 3 of primary school. In Year 1, there were 169 participants (83 boys, 86 girls) aged 6-7 years (M = 6.7, SD = 0.32). In Year 2, there were 156 participants (79 boys, 77 girls), and in Year 3, there were 129 participants (65 boys, 64 girls).

METHODS

Using vignettes that reflected each of the three judgement domains, children were interviewed about the beliefs held by two puppet characters. The interviews took place each year across the early years of elementary education in Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3.

RESULTS

Findings revealed that children's epistemic beliefs in each of the judgement domains became more subjectivist over time but that the age at which this occurred differed according to the judgement domain in question.

CONCLUSIONS

We argue that it is important for teachers to pay attention to children's beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing in the process of scaffolding their reasoning about moral values for active citizenship.

Attitudes Toward Immigrants Among the Youth

Abstract. In recent years in our increasingly globalized world in many countries we have seen the rise of anti-immigrant feelings among the youth. This has resulted in both discrimination against immigrants and negative psychological outcomes which harm both the individual and hinder social integration within society. In this article, we highlight how psychological research can play an important role in informing the design and conduct of educational interventions based on intergroup contact theory that are aimed at reducing prejudice toward immigrants. We review recent research showing anti-immigrant attitudes among the youth across the globe, and how these attitudes are related to parental and peer relationships. Research indicates that a color-blind approach to prejudice reduction among youth is not helpful and, in contrast, it suggests a more effective approach could be a multicultural approach to diversity, which celebrates both group differences and similarities while promoting social integration through quality contact between different social groups. Recent psychological research shows that this contact can take many forms, ranging from direct contact (i.e., cross-ethnic friendships), to extended contact (i.e., reading a book in which someone from your group has a positive interaction with someone from another group) and even imagined contact (i.e., engaging in imagined play involving characters from different groups having positive relations). The findings of this research demonstrate that it is possible to challenge anti-immigrant attitudes when and where they develop in young people.

Face race processing and racial bias in early development: A perceptual-social linkage

Infants have asymmetrical exposure to different types of faces (e.g., more human than other-species, more female than male, and more own-race than other-race). What are the developmental consequences of such experiential asymmetry? Here we review recent advances in research on the development of cross-race face processing. The evidence suggests that greater exposure to own- than other-race faces in infancy leads to developmentally early perceptual differences in visual preference, recognition, category formation, and scanning of own- and other-race faces. Further, such perceptual differences in infancy may be associated with the emergence of implicit racial bias, consistent with a Perceptual-Social Linkage Hypothesis. Current and future work derived from this hypothesis may lay an important empirical foundation for the development of intervention programs to combat the early occurrence of implicit racial bias.

Global Equity and Justice Issues for Young People During the First Three Decades of Life

This chapter takes a global perspective on equity and justice during development from childhood into adulthood. Globally, the population of young people is booming with the most rapid growth among young people in the poorest countries. While already faced with significant issues related to development and thriving, this population boom also exacerbates equity and justice for these children. Given this urgent situation, this chapter builds from the large body of minority world research, as well as the emergent majority world research, to argue that in order to turn the youth bulge into a demographic dividend, researchers must utilize a positive development framing rather than the more dominant problem-focused framing in studying these issues. The structural challenges confronting young people growing up in contexts marked by poverty; weak systems and institutions, especially those serving education, health, and justice; weak political and governance systems; and continual conflict must also be addressed by global and national governmental bodies. This chapter will emphasize the strengths and opportunities of the majority world, highlighting some of the strong, emergent examples of programs that support and develop the strengths of young people. We conclude with a discussion of appropriate support required from the minority and majority worlds that would further strengthen young people globally and enable them to become leaders of a more just, equitable world.

Reducing prejudice and promoting positive intergroup attitudes among elementary-school children in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The current investigation tested the efficacy of the Extended Class Exchange Program (ECEP) in reducing prejudicial attitudes. Three hundred and twenty-two 3rd and 4th grade students from both Israeli-Jewish and Israeli-Palestinian schools in the ethnically mixed city of Jaffa were randomly assigned to either intervention or control classes. Members of the intervention classes engaged in ECEP's activities, whereas members of the control classes engaged in a social-emotional learning program. The program's outcomes were measured a week before, immediately after, and 15months following termination. Results showed that the ECEP decreased stereotyping and discriminatory tendencies toward the other group and increased positive feelings and readiness for social contact with the other group upon program termination. Additionally, the effects of the ECEP were generalized to an ethnic group (i.e., Ethiopians) with whom the ECEP's participants did not have any contact. Finally, the ECEP retained its significant effect 15months after the program's termination, despite the serious clashes between Israel and the Palestinians that occurred during that time. This empirical support for the ECEP'S utility in reducing prejudice makes it potentially applicable to other areas in the world, especially those that are characterized by ethnic tension and violent conflicts.

Implicit Racial Biases in Preschool Children and Adults From Asia and Africa

This research used an Implicit Racial Bias Test to investigate implicit racial biases among 3- to 5-year-olds and adult participants in China (N = 213) and Cameroon (N = 257). In both cultures, participants displayed high levels of racial biases that remained stable between 3 and 5 years of age. Unlike adults, young children's implicit racial biases were unaffected by the social status of the other-race groups. Also, unlike adults, young children displayed overt explicit racial biases, and these biases were dissociated from their implicit biases. The results provide strong evidence for the early emergence of implicit racial biases and point to the need to reduce them in early childhood.

When does the in-group like the out-group? Bias among children as a function of group norms

Research indicates that in-group favoritism is prevalent among both adults and children. Although research has documented that individuals do not consistently display an in-group bias, the conditions under which out-group preference exists are not well understood. In this study, participants (N = 462) aged 9 to 16 years judged in-group deviant acts that were either in line with or counter to a generic norm shared by both groups. The findings demonstrated, for the first time, that children preferred out-group over in-group deviance only when the in-group peer's deviance was in line with the generic norm and a threat to their group's identity. Participants justified their disapproval of these deviants by focusing on the need for group cohesion and loyalty, while they signified their approval by spotlighting the need for autonomy. Our findings suggest that children's intergroup attitudes are influenced by how the behavior of their peers matches different levels of group norms.

Children's attractiveness, gender, and race biases: a comparison of their strength and generality

Although research suggests that facial attractiveness biases significantly affect social development and interactions, these biases are understudied in the developmental literature and are overlooked when designing interventions relative to gender and race. The authors, therefore, compared how much bias 3- to 11-year-olds (N = 102) displayed in the three domains. They also examined whether bias and flexibility (understanding that different social groups can possess similar attributes) were related across domains. Children's attractiveness biases, particularly for girl targets, were as strong as or stronger than gender or race biases. Flexibility, but not bias, was related across domains. Developmental scientists and policy makers should increase efforts toward understanding development of attractiveness biases and determine which methods of teaching flexibility are most successful at reducing bias across domains.