کودکان درباره همسالان درون گروهی و برون گرهی چه چیزهای به یاد می آوردند: اثر کلیشه ها بر پردازش کودکان از اطلاعات در مورد اعضای گروه

Three studies are reported about children’s memory for stereotypic behaviors attributed to ingroup and outgroup members. According to research and theory in social cognition, cues present in the situation make cultural representations about group members accessible, and once primed, influence all phases of the information processing sequence. In Study 1, EuroCanadian and Native Canadian children (N=98) recalled stereotypic behaviors attributed to ingroup and outgroup members. In Study 2 (N=87), the influence of individual difference variables was explored. In Study 3 (N=32), the memory of Native Canadian children living on a First Nation reserve for behaviors attributed to ingroup and outgroup members was studied. Biases in recall were found in Studies 1 and 2, but in Study 3, outgroup favoritism, typically found among low status group members, was reversed among children attending a heritage school. Among the individual difference measures examined, age and level of cognitive development predicted what was remembered about group members. Older EuroCanadian children recalled more negative behaviors about outgroup members than did younger children, and more cognitively mature children recognized more information about ingroup than outgroup members. Results were discussed in terms of cognitive and situational factors influencing children’s processing of group-relevant information and the challenges children in low status groups face in maintaining a sense of cultural identity.

What we remember about a person’s traits or behaviors has a bearing on our impressions of that person and our interactions with him or her. Recalling that someone was kind or angry guides what we think of that person, and whether we will seek that person out or generate excuses to avoid him or her. Although many factors influence impression formation and personal recollections, many studies on person memory have examined the influence of stereotypes on memory and recall. Most of these studies (see Fiske & Taylor, 1991; Kunda, 1999 for reviews) have been done with older adolescents and young adults, but the influence of stereotypes held by children on memory for behaviors attributed to same-age peers has been given less attention. What children remember about what peers say and do can be used to study questions about the impact of stereotypes on information processing, how memory is influenced by factors like perceived social status, and how information about others might be organized in memory. In addition, the present studies address issues raised by intergroup research (e.g., Bigler, Jones, & Lobliner, 1997), and theory (e.g., Tajfel & Turner, 1979) on cognitive and motivational processes involved in children’s memory of stereotypic information.