Abstract
Age-related changes in children’s associations of economic resources and race were investigated. The sample (N = 308) included 5–6 year-olds (n = 153, M = 6.01 years, SD = 0.33 years) and 10–11 year-olds (n = 155, M = 11.12 years, SD = 0.59 years) of African–American (n = 93), European–American (n = 92), Latino (n = 62), Asian–American (n = 23), and multi-racial or multi-ethnic (n = 26) background. Participants matched pairs of target children (African–American and European–American) with visual indicators of low, middle, and high economic status. Children’s associations of economic resources with racial groups changed with age, and reflected different associations at high, middle, and low levels of the economic spectrum. Specifically, children associated targets of both races with middle economic status at a comparable rate, and with age, increasingly associated targets of both races with indicators of middle economic status. By contrast, both younger and older children associated African–American targets with indicators of low economic status more frequently than European–American targets. Finally, children associated African–American targets with indicators of high economic status less frequently with age, resulting in a perceived disparity in favor of European–American targets at high economic status among older children that was not present among younger children. No differences were found by participants’ own racial or ethnic background. These results highlight the need to move beyond a dichotomized view (rich or poor) to include middle economic status when examining children’s associations of economic resources and race.
Highlights
Research in developmental science indicates that children are aware of which groups in their society, including racial groups, are considered high status beginning in early childhood (Nesdale, 2004; Brown and Bigler, 2005; Rutland et al, 2010)
The current study addressed the question: Do children differentially associate high levels, middle levels, and low levels of the economic spectrum with one racial group over another? If children do associate both African–Americans and European– Americans with middle levels of the economic spectrum at a comparable rate, showing differential associations only at the more extreme ends, this would provide important evidence for their developing awareness of greater homogeneity at the highest and lowest points on the spectrum, and relative heterogeneity in the middle
We conducted preliminary analyses to determine whether children’s associations of race with indicators of high, middle, and low economic status differed by indicator type
Summary
Research in developmental science indicates that children are aware of which groups in their society, including racial groups, are considered high status (most respected or esteemed) beginning in early childhood (Nesdale, 2004; Brown and Bigler, 2005; Rutland et al, 2010). With age, children are increasingly aware that individuals possess different amounts of resources, including economic resources (Horwitz et al, 2014; Mistry et al, 2015). Less research has focused on children’s developing awareness of which groups possess economic resources. Determining whether and when children perceive differences in the representation of racial groups at high, middle, and low levels of the economic spectrum is important for understanding children’s developing social and moral knowledge about status and social inequality.
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