Development of the positive-negative asymmetry effect: In-group exclusion norm as a mediator of children’s evaluations on negative attributes

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Rutland, Adam; Brown, Rupert; Cameron, Lindsey; Ahmavaara, Annie; Arnold, Katie and Samson, Jenni. 2007. Development of the positive-negative asymmetry effect: In-group exclusion norm as a mediator of children’s evaluations on negative attributes. European Journal of Social Psychology, 37(1), pp. 171-190. ISSN 0046-2772 [Article]

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Two studies were conducted that go beyond previous research by examining when and why children might show intergroup bias in the attribution of positive, but not negative traits (PNAE: the positive–negative asymmetry effect, Mummendey & Otten, 1998, European review of social psychology, Vol. 9). In Study 1 (n = 107) children completed a ‘mixed’ trait attribution task in a dichotomous group context. As predicted there was a developmental trend between 7 and 12 years of age in the PNAE. The 7-year olds were the only age group not to show the effect. Study 1 also found a quadratic developmental trend in children's national intergroup bias. Study 2 (n = 62) replicated the developmental path of the PNAE found in Study 1 using a wider age range of 6–16 years. This study used a ‘mixed’ list of traits which were not only antonyms and a procedure that made the positive and negative trait dimensions explicitly independent. Significantly, Study 2 found in-group exclusion norm partially mediated the development of the PNAE. These findings support an account of the positive–negative asymmetry effect based upon normative processes.

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Article

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https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.342