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The development and developmental consequences of social essentialism
#MMPMID28273398
Rhodes M
; Mandalaywala TM
Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci
2017[Jul]; 8
(4
): ? PMID28273398
show ga
People often view certain ways of classifying people (e.g., by gender, race, or
ethnicity) as reflecting real distinctions found in nature. Such categories are
viewed as marking meaningful, fundamental, and informative differences between
distinct kinds of people. This article examines the development of these
essentialist intuitive theories of how the social world is structured, along with
the developmental consequences of these beliefs. We first examine the processes
that give rise to social essentialism, arguing that essentialism emerges as
children actively attempt to make sense of their environment by relying on
several basic representational and explanatory biases. These developmental
processes give rise to the widespread emergence of social essentialist views in
early childhood, but allow for vast variability across development and cultural
contexts in the precise nature of these beliefs. We then examine what is known
and still to be discovered about the implications of essentialism for
stereotyping, inter-group interaction, and the development of social prejudice.
We conclude with directions for future research, particularly on the theoretical
payoff that could be gained by including more diverse samples of children in
future developmental investigations. WIREs Cogn Sci 2017, 8:e1437. doi:
10.1002/wcs.1437 This article is categorized under: Psychology > Development and
Aging Philosophy > Knowledge and Belief.
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