Further evidence for social projection in the classroom: Predicting perceived ethnic norms

Abstract

This longitudinal study examines whether children in late childhood (age 7–12) project their ethnic attitudes on their classroom peer group, by using these attitudes to predict children's perceptions of the descriptive ethnic norms in their classroom. Children's norm perceptions were relatively unstable over a half year period, and their ethnic minority group attitudes in the fall uniquely predicted their perceptions of the corresponding classroom norm in the spring. This effect seemed to be unrelated to age-related cognitive limitations, because it was equally strong for younger versus older participants and absent for children's majority group attitudes. Results indicate that children can use social projection to make inferences about ethnic classroom norms, which has important implications for peer influence studies that rely on subjective norm perceptions: What seems to be a normative influence in those studies might (partly) be a perpetuation and strengthening of children's prior attitudes and beliefs via social projection.