Children and Social Exclusion: Morality, Prejudice, and Group Identity

Social inclusion and exclusion are pervasive aspects of social life.  Understanding when exclusion is legitimate or wrong reflects an understanding of morality. While there are times when exclusion is legitimate and fosters group functioning, there are also times when it reflects prejudicial biases and stereotypic expectations. How children weigh fairness and stereotypic expectations when making exclusion decisions is determined by their understanding of group norms, social identity, and friendships with children from other backgrounds. In our contemporary global society, few topics are as timely or pressing as exclusion. Social Exclusion, Morality, and Prejudice in Children’s Lives delves deeply into the origins of prejudice and the emergence of morality to explain why children include some and exclude others and sheds light on the origins of stereotyping, prejudice, and social justice.
By tackling these important issues from a global perspective, Social Exclusion, Morality, and Prejudice in Children’s Lives illustrates how the concept of exclusion might be better understood in multiple cultures and reveals its implications in regions of conflict in the world.

Nota biograficzna:
Melanie Killen is Professor of Human Development, Professor of Psychology (Affiliate), and the Associate Director for the Center for Children, Relationships, and Culture at the University of Maryland. She is a Fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. She is also a recent recipient of the Distinguished Scholar–Teacher Award by the Provost from the University of Maryland. Her book with Dan Hart, Morality in Everyday Life: Developmental Perspectives (1995), received the outstanding book award from AERA, and her book with Sheri Levy, Intergroup Attitudes and Relations from Childhood to Adulthood, received an Honorable Mention for the Otto Klin eberg Memorial Prize from SPSSI. She has over 100 publications. Her research examines the development of morality, intergroup attitudes, exclusion and inclusion, peer relationships, prejudice, culture, and how diversity in social experience is related to social cognitive development. 
Adam Rutland is Professor of Developmental Psychology at the Child Development Unit and Centre for the Study of Group Processes in the School of Psychology at the University of Kent. Previously he has been a British Academy Post–doctoral Fellow at the University of Surrey and been a member of Faculty at the University of Aberdeen. His research examines the development of children’s prejudice and social identities. He has conducted recent research into when and how children learn to self–present their explicit attitudes; how intergroup contact can reduce children’s prejudice; children’s exclusion of peers within groups and acculturation amongst ethnic minority children. Professor Rutland’s research has primarily been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the British Academy in the UK. He has published over 40 publications in international journals and has edited volumes in the fields of developmental and social psychology.

Okładka tylna:
Social inclusion and exclusion are pervasive aspects of social life.  Understanding when exclusion is legitimate or wrong reflects an understanding of morality. While there are times when exclusion is legitimate and fosters group functioning, there are also times when it reflects prejudicial biases and stereotypic expectations. How children weigh fairness and stereotypic expectations when making exclusion decisions is determined by their understanding of group norms, social identity, and friendships with children from other backgrounds. In our contemporary global society, few topics are as timely or pressing as exclusion. Social Exclusion, M orality, and Prejudice in Children’s Lives delves deeply into the origins of prejudice and the emergence of morality to explain why children include some and exclude others and sheds light on the origins of stereotyping, prejudice, and social justice.
By tackling these important issues from a global perspective, Social Exclusion, Morality, and Prejudice in Children’s Lives illustrates how the concept of exclusion might be better understood in multiple cultures and reveals its implications in regions of conflict in the world.