Social categories as markers of intrinsic interpersonal obligations.

Date

2013-06

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Abstract

Social categorization is an early-developing feature of human social cognition, yet the role that social categories play in how children understand and predict human behavior has been unclear. These studies test whether a foundational functional role of social categories is to mark people as intrinsically obligated (e.g., to protect, not to harm) to one another. In three studies, children (ages 3-9, N = 124) viewed only within-category harm as violating intrinsic obligations; in contrast, they viewed between-category harm as violating extrinsic obligations defined by explicit rules. These data indicate that children view social categories as marking patterns of intrinsic interpersonal obligations, suggesting that a key function of social categories is to support inferences about how people will relate to members of their own and other groups.

Description

Scholarly research article

Keywords

Social categorization, Cognitive development, Intuitive theories

Citation

Rhodes, M., & Chalik, L. (2013). Social categories as markers of intrinsic interpersonal obligations. Psychological Science, 24, 999-1006.