TY - JOUR T1 - The ontogeny of the motivation that underlies in-group bias. JF - Psychol Sci Y1 - 2014 A1 - Buttelmann, David A1 - Böhm, Robert KW - Child KW - Child Development KW - Child, Preschool KW - Cognition KW - Female KW - Group Processes KW - Humans KW - Male KW - Motivation KW - Social Behavior KW - Social Distance KW - Social Identification KW - Social Perception AB -

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.

VL - 25 IS - 4 ER -