About this srcd poster session

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Panel information
Panel 13. Moral Development

Abstract

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Groups represent an early-emerging, foundational part of social life. Being part of a group fosters affiliation and collaboration among group members, establishes group rules and norms, and signals to others one’s identity within a group. Not only do children reason about groups in general; they also reason about how they fit within their own groups. This leads to an early-emerging, persistent in-group bias (Bian et al., 2018; Abrams et al., 2003). Group norms also play a key role in a child’s social world. When a group member violates group norms, this signals a lack of conformity which may result in negative consequences. Young children show this by engaging in costly punishment to uphold group norms while differentiating social norm enforcement with in-group versus out-group members (Yudkin et al., 2020; Schmidt et al., 2012). This suggests that children consider group identity as a key marker for one’s own rules, albeit not for widely enforced moral rules. Both group membership and group norms play a key role in group identity formation for children. By ages 4-5, children develop theory of mind and achieve collective intentionality, enabling them to recognize distinct perspectives, engage in group-minded thinking, conform to social norms, and show reputational concern (Engelmann & Rapp, 2018; Tomasello, 2016; Tomasello & Carpenter, 2007; Wellman, 2014; Wellman et al., 2001).

One question that remains then is how children reason when there is a conflict between an individual’s group membership and their upholding of a group objective. Namely, when a group member becomes a traitor by betraying their group, either by not helping them or by helping a competing group, which do children deem more important: group membership or group objectives? Through a novel experiment with 5-8-year-old children (projected N = 128), we will explore exactly that. We will first conduct this study with adults to validate our insights and methodologies. Children will listen to two stories about characters from two different groups. These stories describe an objective both groups desire to achieve: finding hidden treasure. In order to find the treasure, groups must find a treasure map. However, some group members betray their group by sharing the map with the competing group or tampering with it before giving it to their own. Other group members do not betray their group. Character action will be a within-subjects factor, with each participant seeing one character tamper with the map and another clean it. Type of traitor will be a between-subjects factor, with each participant seeing both characters give the map to either an in-group or out-group member. Participants will then answer questions evaluating the character’s action and motivation as well as their role as a group member. With competing motivations to protect group members and group norms, which will children prioritize?

This study will be a crucial first step in delineating how children reason about what it means to be a member of a group versus conforming to a group’s norm, providing a nuanced understanding of children’s developing social and moral worlds within and about groups.

Author information

Author	Role
Kayley Dotson, University of Michigan	Presenting author
Susan Gelman, University of Michigan	Non-presenting author

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