What do Israeli children and adults want to know about in- and out-group members?

2026/07/24 by Meytal Nasie, Yael Aronovitz, Yara Nassir +1
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Psychological and Educational Research Studies #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Child and Animal Learning Development

paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.107520

Abstract

People's curiosity about others often reflects their concepts of others. This research examined the amount and types of information Israeli children and adults seek about in-group and out-group members. Children (kindergarteners and 2nd graders) and adults (N = 219) from a numerical minority group (Israeli Arabs; Study 1) and a numerical majority group (Israeli Jews; Study 2), were asked what they would like to know about individuals from three social groups: their in-group (Arabs or Jews, respectively), a conflict out-group (Jews or Arabs, respectively), and a non-conflict out-group (Scots). Results showed that although the target's social group did not affect the amount of information participants requested, it did affect information content. Namely, Arab participants requested more psychological information about the conflict out-group than the other groups, whereas Jewish participants requested more social identity information about both conflict and non-conflict out-groups than the in-group. The findings highlight how group membership and social status (reflecting numerical group size, dominance, and broader social standing) shape the nature of information children and adults seek about others.

Citations

• White and Black American children's implicit intergroup bias
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Related

• What children want to know about in‐ and out‐groups, and how knowledge affects their intergroup attitudes
• Social Understanding in Young Israeli-Jewish, Israeli-Palestinian, Palestinian, and Jordanian Children: Moral Judgments and Stereotypes
• Differences in stated attitudes vs. realised friendships among Jews vis-à-vis Arabs in Israel
• Children explain in‐ and out‐group behavior differently
• Intergroup bias in children’s preference for in- versus out-group informants.