National identifications and attitudes to national ingroups and outgroups amongst children living in the Basque country

This study investigated the development of national identification in children growing up in the Basque Country. The sample consisted of 246 children aged 6, 9, 12 and 15 years old who belonged to three linguistic subgroups: children who spoke only Basque with their parents in their home, children who spoke only Spanish in their home, and children who spoke both Basque and Spanish in their home. It was found that national identifications differed in the three linguistic subgroups. Furthermore, the three subgroups exhibited different evaluations of, and feelings towards, the national ingroup and a number of national outgroups. The positive and affective distinctiveness ascribed to the Basque and Spanish national groups was correlated with the strength of identification with the Basque and Spanish groups, respectively. The attitudes towards national outgroups which were exhibited by these children did not show any changes as a function of age. It is argued that the cognitive‐developmental account of the development of national attitudes is unable to explain the patterns of findings which were obtained, but that social identity theory can explain the correlation between the strength of national identification and the positive and affective distinctiveness which was ascribed to the ingroup. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

‘We are the good guys but they are not bad’. In‐group positivity and cognitive performance in preschoolers

The general purpose of this study was to analyse the developmental relations between the early forms of ethnic attitudes, and the classification abilities of the young child. We designed new cognitive tasks within a detection paradigm adapted to preschoolers and attitudinal tasks that were presented as games in a computer screen. Participants were 75 majority‐group children of 3, 4, and 5 years of age. Children's preferences and positive/negative attitudes towards the in‐group (Spaniards) and three out‐groups (Latin‐Americans, Africans, and Asians) were measured. The results showed a remarkable preference and positivity for the in‐group, but not out‐group derogation. Children's cognitive performance, to a greater extent than their age, was positively associated with in‐group favouritism and positivity. On the other hand, we found some interesting differences and developmental changes in children's positive orientation to the out‐groups that are discussed in the last section.     

Effects of information about group members on young children's attitudes towards the in‐group and out‐group

Research shows that being a member of a group is sufficient to instigate more positive attitudes towards the in‐group than an out‐group in young children. The present study assessed whether children's intergroup attitudes during the middle childhood years are moderated by additional information about in‐group and out‐group members, as proposed by Aboud's (1988) socio‐cognitive theory (ST). To a minimal group 6‐, 8‐, and 10‐year‐old children (N=159) were assigned, and received information, or no information, about the interests and activities of the in‐group and out‐group members. Results indicated that the in‐group was always rated more positively than the out‐group, and that the in‐group's ratings were unaffected by either the in‐group or out‐group information. In contrast, out‐group ratings were affected by out‐group information, but only when there was no information available about the in‐group. The implications of the findings for ST, and for social identity development theory, are discussed.     

Cognitive modifiability as a function of mother–child mediated learning strategies,mothers' acceptance–rejection,and children's personality

This study investigated (a) the effects of mediated learning experience (MLE) in mother–child interactions on cognitive modifiability as measured by dynamic assessment, (b) the effects of mothers' acceptance–rejection towards their children and the children's personality on the mothers' MLE strategies, (c) the combined effects of the mothers' acceptance–rejection, children's personality, and MLE strategies on children's cognitive modifiability, and (d) the prediction of cognitive modifiability by MLE interactions in two distinct conditions: free-play and structured. Fifty-four mother–child dyads (26 boys and 28 girls) in grade 2 were videotaped interacting in two situations: free-play and structured. The interactions were analysed with observation of mediation instrument using five criteria: intentionality and reciprocity, transcendence, meaning, feelings of competence, and regulation of behaviour. The children were administered the parent acceptance–rejection questionnaire, the personality assessment questionnaire, and the children's inferential thinking modifiability test. A distal–proximal factors of cognitive modifiability model was used to explain causal paths among mothers' acceptance–rejection and children's personality (distal) on MLE (proximal), and of both on children's cognitive modifiability. A structural equation model analysis revealed that (a) all MLE criteria were predicted by the distal factors of mothers' acceptance–rejection and children's personality, (b) none of the mothers' attitudes or children's personality factors explained the children's cognitive factors, (c) MLE criteria of transcendence and regulation of behaviour explained the children's CITM-post-teaching score but not the CITM-pre-teaching score. The results are discussed in relation to Feuerstein's MLE theory and Tzuriel's previous results with preschool children. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Children's Cognition as the Foundation of Spirituality

The theory offered in this article articulates the position that the cognitive skills manifested by children are those which are necessary preconditions for spirituality. I argue that psychological theories that posit a hierarchical stage theory of cognition and affect are grounded on premises, which devalue these skills. Theories of children's spirituality have foundered in their ability to appreciate that children's cognition is organized through structures that are quintessential to spirituality, due to their misplaced reliance on these theories. I offer a critique of traditional psychological approaches and an alternative model of children's cognition, which reveals that the cognitive capacities of children are essential to the phenomenology of spirituality.     

Individual aggression,national attachment,and the search for peace: Psychological perspectives

The primary question addressed is the role of affect related factors, particularly values, as possible mediators of individual differences in attitudes towards nuclear armament-disarmament issues. One such factor is value placed on children, those individuals who have greater affection for children or who are more supportive of devoting national resources toward meeting children's needs being more supportive of nuclear disarmament and a nuclear test moratorium. This relationship was found in a well-educated group of adults with a special interest in foreign affairs as well as in college student populations. A significant and strong relationship between the value placed on war as an instrument of foreign policy and a pronuclear armament stance was also found in each of these two samples. Measures of individual aggression, however, were minimally and inconsistently related to the attitude towards nuclear armament-disarmament and the attitude towards war measures. The possible role of patriotic and nationalistic values was also explored. Patriotism or love of and pride in one's country was shown to be functionally distinct from nationalism or the view that one's country is superior to and should be more powerful than other nations. Patriotism but not nationalism was found to be positively correlated with early paternal sattachment while nationalism but not patriotism, was found to be significantly related to pronuclear armament views. The findings from this series of studies indicate that the analysis of individual differences in nuclear armament-disarmament policy attitudes has heuristic usefulness and may be useful for social policy in this area.     

A Note on Variations in “Persistence” Test Score with Sex,Age, and Academic Level

Summary

Preferences for 10 foreign nations were assessed in 60 English children, and information about one nation (Germany) was elicited. Evaluations of the nations seemed largely more-or-less adequate approximations to a cultural standard, while information about Germany was sketchy and largely related to war. A previously reported curvilinear relationship between preference and knowledge was confirmed, significantly, among the Ss with the more reliable preference judgments.

The children were played a story set either in their own nation (England) or an unpopular nation (Germany), Their immediate apprehension of the story was unaffected by the setting. Recall after seven weeks, however, showed relative evaluative distortion, according to the national setting. It is suggested that such selective recall could occur in such a way as to provide apparent—but spurious—cognitive justification of early evaluative learning in the field of national attitudes.     

Chinese students' attitudes towards US universities in the US–China conflict

Globalization has been the catalyst of world economic development in the past decades. However, the phenomenon has recently been severely challenged by a wave of deglobalization. Within this new trend, the conflict between the United States (US) and China has attracted the attention of scholars from various fields because of the two countries' significance in the world economy. In this study, we focus on the higher education sector, which is highly relevant to globalization, and explore the factors that may affect Chinese college students' attitudes towards US universities, including country image, cultural openness, consumer animosity and perceived quality. In particular, we distinguish between cognitive and affective animosity and test their different impacts on students' attitudes. The results show that students' perception of the US's image positively influences attitudes towards the country's universities thanks to the mediation of perceived quality. Moreover, cultural openness and cognitive animosity are positively related to attitudes, whereas affective animosity exerts a negative impact on attitudes. The implications and limitations of this study are also discussed.     

Effects of peer group rejection and a new group's norms on children's intergroup attitudes

This study examined the effects of peer group rejection and a new group's norms on 7‐ and 9‐year old children's intergroup attitudes. Children (N =82) were rejected or accepted by an initial group, then accepted by a new group that had a norm of inclusion versus exclusion towards others. Results showed that rejected compared with accepted children had a more negative attitude towards the initial group, that they were equally positive towards their new group, but that the rejected children were more negative towards an outgroup. Results also revealed an age × target group × group norm effect that indicated that the younger children's attitudes towards the three groups were more negative in the exclusion versus acceptance norm condition. The older children were also more negative towards the initial and new groups in the exclusion condition, but their more positive attitudes towards the outgroup were unaffected by the group norms. The bases of the effects of peer group rejection and group norms are discussed.     

Linguistic Analysis of Communication in Therapist-Assisted Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder

In spite of a growth in cognitive conceptualizations of obsessive‐compulsive symptoms, relatively little has been done to extend such concepts to childhood. This study investigated the relationship between responsibility attitudes and obsessive‐compulsive symptoms in normal children. A measure of responsibility attitudes in children was constructed on the basis of Salkovskis' Responsibility Attitudes Scale. This measure (Responsibility Attitudes Scale for Children) was administered together with the Leyton Obsessive Inventory Child Version and the Children's Depression Inventory to a sample of two hundred and two 10–14‐year‐old schoolchildren in Iceland. The responsibility measure correlated moderately and similarly with the Leyton Obsessive Inventory Child Version and the Children's Depression Inventory. In a hierarchical regression analysis predicting Leyton Obsessive Inventory Child Version scores, age and gender were entered in the equation first, followed by Children's Depression Inventory scores and, finally, Responsibility Attitudes Scale for Children scores. It was shown that Responsibility Attitudes Scale for Children scores added significantly to the prediction of Leyton Obsessive Inventory Child Version over and above the other variables. It is concluded that the study of the role of responsibility attitudes in children's obsessive‐compulsive symptoms is at least promising.     

Romaphobia Among Serbian Adolescents: The Role of National In‐group Attitudes and Perceived Threat

This study employed the integrated threat theory to examine Serbian adolescents' attitudes towards the Roma. The sample consisted of 687 secondary school students (mean age 17), of whom 53% were females. In a survey‐based study, we assessed adolescents' national in‐group attitudes (i.e., nationalism), their feelings toward the Roma, and their perception of economic and symbolic threat. Findings suggest that perceived threat to either real resources or worldviews of the dominant group was related to more negative attitudes towards the Roma minority. Further, Romaphobia was positively related to adolescents' nationalism and this relationship was partially mediated by perceived economic and symbolic threat. The theoretical and educational implications are discussed.     

Differences in child rearing attitudes between immigrant Chinese mothers and Anglo-American mothers

In order to explore cultural differences in child rearing attitudes, we studied 30 Anglo-American mothers and 30 immigrant Chinese mothers in the US, together with their preschool children and the children's teachers. Mothers completed a measure of child rearing attitudes, children were assessed for perceived competence, and teachers rated children's competence. Results showed that immigrant Chinese mothers were more authoritarian overall, as expected from previous research, but that they also were more likely to encourage independence and demand maturity from their children. Chinese-American children scored higher than Anglo-American children on cognitive competence, and their cognitive competence was related to authoritarian child rearing. The results are discussed in the context of Confucian and American cultural values. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Influence of Maternal Child-Rearing Attitudes and Teaching Behaviors on Preschoolers' Delay of Gratification

This study was an exploratory examination of the influence of mothers' teaching behaviors, strategies, and child-rearing attitudes on their children's ability to delay gratification. In an externally imposed delay of gratification situation, 30 mothers from a rural university community taught their children strategies that could help them refrain from touching a brightly wrapped present when the mothers left the room. Results showed that mothers of children who did not delay gratification exhibited teaching behaviors and child-rearing attitudes consistent with a permissive parenting style, whereas mothers of children who did delay gratification exhibited teaching behaviors and child-rearing attitudes consistent with an authoritative parenting style. The results of this study are discussed with respect to the development of children's self-control and self-regulatory abilities.     

The intergenerational transmission of ethnic essentialism: how parents talk counts the most

The present study analyzed the role of parents as potential sources of children's essentialist beliefs about ethnicity. We tested 76 parent–child (5‐year‐olds) dyads of Jewish Israeli parents from three social groups, defined by the kindergartens children attended: national religious, secular, or Jewish‐Arab integrated. We assessed parents' and children's beliefs, and parents' usage of ethnic attitudinal and categorization markers in a book‐reading activity. Overall, national religious parents manifested the strongest ethnic essentialism and endorsement of anti‐negotiations with Palestinians, and were the most likely to express negative attitudes and mark ethnic categories in their conversations with their children. Moreover, regression analyses revealed that ethnic categorization in parents' speech was the most reliable predictor of children's ethnic essentialism. Ethnic essentialism is transmitted to children not via explicit communication of intergroup beliefs or attitudes, but rather via the sheer marking of categories in ways that resonate with children's own intuitive ways of conceptualizing the social world.     

Is war a good or a bad thing? The attitudes of Croatian,Israeli, and Palestinian children toward war

It has been documented that children's basic attitudes to social issues such as war and peace are formed during the early school‐age period. The aims of the study were threefold: (1) to examine the attitudes of Croatian school‐age children toward war and peace; (2) to explore the relationship between these attitudes and children's gender, age, and amount of experience with war and violence; and (3) to compare the attitudes of Croatian children toward war and peace with the attitudes of Israeli and Palestinian children examined using the same scale 18 years earlier. The sample consisted of 230 children aged 11–14 years who attended school in Zagreb. The results indicate that Croatian children generally have a negative attitude toward war, but strongly support the fight for the freedom of their nation. A relationship was found between the children's gender, age, and war experiences and their attitudes toward war. A comparison between Croatian, Israeli, and Palestinian children showed that nationhood had an influence on attitudes toward war. However, there is greater similarity in the attitudes of today's Croatian and former Israeli children than between today's Croatian and former Palestinian children, and between Israeli and Palestinian children 18 years ago.     

Differences in attitudes towards inclusion between parents of children with and without disabilities

IntroductionInclusion is among the greatest challenges facing educational systems throughout the world today. Parents’ attitudes play a key role in the successful implementation of inclusion. Therefore, there is a growing interest in comparing the attitudes towards inclusion among parents of children with and without disabilities.ObjectiveThe current study was set out to assess if there are differences in attitudes towards inclusion between parents of children with and without disabilities.MethodThe sample consisted of 332 parents (127 parents of children with disabilities and 205 parents of children without disabilities). All children attended general education primary schools. Participants completed anonymously the Greek version of Attitude Survey Towards Inclusive Education – Parents (de Boer et al., 2012a, b).ResultsThe findings showed no significant differences in attitudes towards inclusion between parents of children with and without disabilities. However, significant differences were found in parents’ attitudes towards inclusion based on their familiarity with a disabled person and the type of disabilities (congenital or acquired).ConclusionThese findings highlight the need to take into consideration parents’ and children's factors during the development of interventions to change attitudes towards inclusion.     

Are family therapists listening to the young? A psychological perspective*

This paper sets out to examine the family therapist's relationship to young children from a psychological perspective. Earlier contributions to the literature regarding the involvement of children in family sessions are reviewed briefly. Aspects of attachment theory and Piaget's theory of cognitive development are considered in terms of their implications for family therapy. It is argued that family therapists should be mindful of parents’ responsibilities for meeting their children's needs, particularly their need to experience predictability and to have a coherent story about their lives. The importance of exploring the effects of adult choices on the children is also emphasized.     

Young children's self‐benefiting lies and their relation to executive functioning and theory of mind

It is well established that children lie in different social contexts for various purposes from the age of 2 years. Surprisingly, little is known about whether very young children will spontaneously lie for personal gain, how self‐benefiting lies emerge, and what cognitive factors affect the emergence of self‐benefiting lies. To bridge this gap in the literature, we situated children between 2 and 4 years of age in a zero‐sum game where children must lie to their opponent if they wanted to win a desirable reward. We found that the majority of young children did not lie even when they experienced personal losses repeatedly. However, some children spontaneously lied during the game; as the game progressed, more children lied. Further, we found that children's theory of mind understanding and executive functioning in terms of a combination of inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility had significant positive and unique correlations with how frequently children lied for personal gain. The present results taken together with the existing findings regarding children's lies for self‐protection and politeness purposes suggest that the act of lying begins early in life. Further, its emergence and development are influenced by children's specific cognitive abilities in the domains of theory of mind understanding and executive functioning.

Highlights

• The study investigated whether very young children will spontaneously lie for personal gain.
• This study used a zero‐sum game to elicit children's self‐benefiting lies. Results showed the majority of young children did not lie, and it is related to children's theory of mind understanding and executive functioning.
• The act of lying begins early in life, and its emergence and development are influenced by children's specific cognitive abilities in the domains of theory of mind understanding and executive functioning.

     

Being Chinese or being Scottish: National identification and intergroup attitudes of British born Chinese children

This study explored the age differences in national identification, and intergroup attitudes among British born Chinese (BBC) living in Scotland. Participants comprised 70 children in three age groups (8, 11 and 14 years). The study included three tasks: task 1 investigated children's national self-categorization; task 2 examined children's national self-identification; task 3 explored children's perception of the positive and negative traits of Chinese and Scottish people across the age groups (using card-sorting tasks). The results indicated that BBC children identified their national identity as Scottish, however, it varied with age and national contexts. Most BBC children identified themselves as both Chinese and Scottish but they attributed significantly more positive traits to Chinese than to Scottish people and showed significantly more liking for Chinese people than Scottish. The study concludes that BBC children experience a dual identity in which different components are integrated.