Influence of Regional Perceptions and Children’s Age on Their Social Inclusion Judgments
Influence of Regional Perceptions and Children’s Age on Their Social Inclusion Judgments

Summary/Abstract: The present study examined the effects of children’s perceptions about the members of different geographical regions of Turkey on their social inclusion judgments. Children evaluated vignettes including protagonists coming from eastern and western regions of Turkey, which are namely easterners vs. westerners. Children demonstrated established perceptions regarding the disadvantaged social status of easterners and advantaged one for westerners, as shown by the preliminary study. In the main study, 150 children (75 10-year-olds, M = 10 years, SD = 4.17; 75 13-year-olds, 13.06 years, SD = 0.31) were asked to decide whom to include, either an easterner or a westerner, into a reading group and justify their decisions. According to the results, while participants chose the socially advantaged child in the equal qualifications condition more frequently, they chose the disadvantaged child for the unequal qualifications. For justifications, 13-year-olds made more stereotyping and moral justifications, whereas 10-year-olds made more psychological justifications in the equal qualifications condition. This study was the first attempt to infer the socially disadvantaged status of easterners in Turkey and its effect as a criterion for inclusion.

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