Describing Groups To Children Using Generic Language Can Accidentally Teach Them Social Stereotypes

By Matthew Warren When we talk to children about the characteristics of boys and girls, our word choice and syntax can profoundly shape what they take away from the conversation. Even attempts to dispel stereotypes can backfire: as we recently reported, telling kids that girls are “as good as” boys at maths can actually leave them believing that boys are naturally better at the subject and that girls have to work harder. Other work has shown that “generic” language can also perpetuate stereotypes: saying that boys “like to play football”, for instance, can make children believe that all boys like to play football, or that liking football is a fundamental part of being a boy. Now a study in Psychological Science shows that when kids hear this kind of generic language, they don’t just make assumptions about the group that is mentioned — they also make inferences about unmentioned groups. That is, if children hear that boys like to play football, they might deduce that girls do not. To examine these kinds of inferences, Kelsey Moty and Marjorie Rhodes from New York University first asked 287 kids aged 4 to 6 to watch a video about a town that is home to two groups of people: “zarpies” and “gorps”. First, a narrator introduced these groups, outlining a few of their characteristics (zarpies, for instance, “like to climb tall fences”, while gorps “like to draw stars on their knees”). The kids then saw more zarpies and gorps, w...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Developmental Gender Language Source Type: blogs