Dev Sci. 2021 Dec 03; doi: 10.1111/desc.13206. Epub 2021 Dec 03.
Developmental science
Ashley E Jordan, Karen Wynn
PMID: 34859935 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13206
These studies investigate the influence of adults' explicit attention to commonalities of appearance on children's preference for individuals resembling themselves. Three findings emerged: (1) An adult's identification of 2 dolls' respective similarity to and difference from the child led 3-year-olds to prefer the similar doll (Study 1, n = 32). (2) When the adult did not comment on similarity, children age 6 years but not younger preferred physically similar individuals (Study 2, n = 68), suggesting that a spontaneous preference for physically similar others does not emerge before school age. (3) Four- but not 3-year-olds generalized an adult's pedagogical cues about similarity, leading them to prefer a self-resembling doll in a new context (Study 3, n = 80). These findings collectively suggest that the preference for individuals resembling ourselves develops through a process of internalizing adults' attention to, and messages about, similarities of appearance. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Keywords: cognitive development; preferences; similarity; social cognition; social development
