Dr. Mulvey is a job candidate for a faculty position in Psychology

Children exhibit advanced social-cognitive skills when navigating their social worlds.  However, there are contexts in which children’s group membership may pose challenges as children make social decisions.  In this talk, I will present the findings of my recent research on children’s and adolescents’ social judgments in intergroup contexts.  I will discuss research examining the role of gender stereotypes in children’s judgments and decision making. I will also review research that focuses on how children’s social-cognitive skills, namely theory of mind, are related to their evaluations of intergroup resource allocation. Additionally, I will review findings examining challenging group norms that support aggression, that perpetuate gender stereotypes and that condone race-based humor.  Broadly, these findings reveal the sophisticated way in which children and adolescents balance their social and moral understanding with their knowledge about approaching intergroup contexts.  The implications will be discussed in terms of how parents, educators and group leaders can best support children’s and adolescents’ social development.

Sponsored by the Department of Psychology