The Development of Ethnic Attitudes

Abstract

Empirical research reported in the literature over the past 18 years was integrated and critically evaluated to determine the age at which ethnic attitudes are formed, their course of development after this age of onset, and psychological factors influencing attitude development. Conclusions were drawn about the effects of age and ethnic status that differed in certain respects from those made a decade ago. The development of ethnic attitudes was found to parallel certain developments in affective, perceptual, and cognitive processes, such as the differentiation between groups and between individuals. Within this framework, differences between majority and minority children were discussed in terms of the effects of social factors on affect, perception, and cognition.