@article {302, title = {The ontogeny of the motivation that underlies in-group bias.}, journal = {Psychol Sci}, volume = {25}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Apr}, pages = {921-7}, 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\&$\#$39;s own group (in-group love), derogation of the out-group (out-group hate), or both. Although some studies have demonstrated in-group bias among children and infants, nothing is known about the underlying motivations of this bias. Using a novel game, we found that in-group love is already present in children of preschool age and can motivate in-group-biased behavior across childhood. In contrast, out-group hate develops only after a child\&$\#$39;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.

}, keywords = {Child, Child Development, Child, Preschool, Cognition, Female, Group Processes, Humans, Male, Motivation, Social Behavior, Social Distance, Social Identification, Social Perception}, issn = {1467-9280}, doi = {10.1177/0956797613516802}, author = {Buttelmann, David and B{\"o}hm, Robert} }