Children's Understanding and Use of Four Dimensions of Social Status

• Published in: Journal of cognition and development Vol. 21; no. 4; pp. 573 - 602
• Main Authors: Enright, Elizabeth A., Alonso, Daniel J., Lee, Bella M., Olson, Kristina R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Psychology Press 07.08.2020; Routledge; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Children; Childrens Attitudes; Decision making; Identification; Power Structure; Preferences; Preschool Children; Resource Allocation; Social Cognition; Social interactions; Social Status
• ISSN: 1524-8372; 1532-7647
• DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2020.1797745

Beginning early in life, children are exposed to people who differ in social status. In five studies, we investigate whether 3- to 6-year-old children recognize different dimensions of status (i.e., wealth, physical dominance, decision-making power, and prestige) and use these dimensions to inform their social judgments (preferences and resource allocation). Across studies, we found that by age 3, children identify high-status people as in-charge. Further, while 3-6-year-olds favor higher status individuals over lower status individuals on a preference measure, 5-6-year-olds allocate a resource to a lower status individual over a higher status individual and 3-4-year-olds are at chance in their allocation. We observed minimal differences across dimensions of status in these studies. Taken together, across five pre-registered studies, we demonstrated that children identify and use social status distinctions to inform their social judgments across a variety of different dimensions.