Skinner

Evidence of group bias based on race, ethnicity, nationality, and language emerges early in the life span.
Understanding the initial acquisition of group bias has critical theoretical and practical implications.
Despite its importance, the acquisition process has been understudied.
Two preregistered experiments tested the hypothesis that generalized social group biases can be acquired via exposure to nonverbal signals.
Children observed positive nonverbal signals directed toward a novel adult from one group and negative signals towards another group.
Findings: Preschool-age participants preferred groups receiving positive signals over those receiving negative signals.
The hypothesis was supported; generalized social group biases can be rapidly and unintentionally transmitted.

Scenario Example: A child at a playground observes their babysitter positively interacting with one adult while exhibiting negativity towards another. This raises questions about how children process nonverbal signals and their implicit biases towards different social groups.
Research Questions:
1. How does a child use information from nonverbal behavior?
2. How does this influence attitudes favoring one adult over another, especially when from different social groups?

Definition of Group Bias: Group bias is referred to as an attitude reflecting positive or negative associations with a social group (Brewer, 1999; Smith, 2014).
Early Development: Evidence suggests group biases emerge as early as 3-5 years of age, favoring certain racial or social groups (Aboud, 2003; Dunham et al., 2008).
Children’s Biases: Prior studies show that children develop explicit and implicit biases towards groups based on various characteristics such as race and nationality, often favoring ingroups over outgroups (Cvencek et al., 2011; Dunham et al., 2006).

Factors Influencing Group Bias:
- Observable characteristics that differentiate groups (perceptual discriminability).
- Use of distinct labels for different groups.
- Implicit cues indicating if groups are socially meaningful.
- The proportional size of groups influences perceptions of distinctiveness.
Upon group salience, cognitive processes and environmental cues promote an understanding of social group dynamics leading to biases.

Child Bias Formation: Children can form biases towards individuals from nonverbal cues presented towards them by adults, particularly when evaluative signals reflect others' biases (Skinner et al., 2017).
Nonverbal Transmission: Signals convey emotions and associations toward social targets, influencing children's inferences about individuals' characteristics (Terrizzi et al., 2019).

Classical Conditioning: Initial research showed neutral stimuli could acquire valence via pairing with positive or negative stimuli (Staats & Staats, 1958).
Social Target Attitudes: Exposure to nonverbal interactions has been shown to shift children's attitudes toward social groups (De Houwer et al., 2001).

Bandura’s Perspective: Observational learning allows for faster and more effective knowledge acquisition, as seen in nonverbal learning traits.
Implication on Bias: Children may exhibit favorable or unfavorable biases based on adults' emotional responses during interactions with others from different groups.

Nonverbal signals can be pivotal in acquiring group biases by modeling behaviors and signaling attitudes toward specific individual members of different groups (Brey & Shutts, 2015, 2018).
Study Reference: When children observe adults displaying preferential signals, they may extend biases towards that individual’s entire social group or class (Skinner et al., 2017).
Real World Applications: Evidence suggests nonverbal cues from culturally stigmatized groups influence adult biases (Weisbuch & Ambady, 2009).

Investigate whether preschool-aged children develop social group biases after observing adults displaying positive/negative nonverbal cues.
Assess the processes of observational learning in social bias formation.

Experiment 1: Focus on Small Groups
1. Preschoolers observed recorded videos of adults displaying warm and cold nonverbal signals toward two unfamiliar adults colored by t-shirt appropriateness.
2. Responses to bias assessments were recorded, evaluating children's preferences towards individuals and their respective social groups.
Experiment 2: Expansion to Larger Groups
1. Children were introduced to broader groups where each individual section was linked through claims of national origin without direct references to group categorization.
2. Explore group broader biases over singular interactions.

Children recruited from the University of Washington Child Participant Pool, ensuring a diverse background.

Videos of nonverbal interactions include positive and negative signals, resulting in initial selection bias measures.

Social Preference: Choices regarding who they liked best post-interaction.
Behavioral Intentions: Intended behaviors post-observation toward resource distribution and social engagement interactions.
Imitation: Assessing how children mentally simulated and later acted on observed behavior of positives versus negatives.

Employing multivariate logistic regression models adjusted for individual and group biases based on responses recorded during preference measures.

Strong evidence was found to support biases acquired through observational learning, indicating both individual and broader group outcomes derived from observed nonverbal cues.

General findings indicate that children can acquire new biases based solely on their exposure to nonverbal cues, extending these preferences across not just individuals but entire groups.
Results confirm the role of observational learning within social contexts, emphasizing its implications on biases in adults and children stemming from nonverbal interactions within familial and social groups.
Importance of considered long-term impacts of observational learning and judgement on group biases in wider societal contexts, along with future evaluations to challenge or uphold existing findings in diverse populations.