| Abstract: | Reviews the book, Children and prejudice by Frances Aboud (1988). It is to the credit of the author to bring to our attention the importance of children's cognitive development. The cognitive stages of development according to Piaget, Kohlberg, and so on are shown to restrict or facilitate perception and cognitive interpretations of social events and experiences. The social psychological theories of prejudice are critically discussed. Their major limitations are indicated. On the basis of her research as well as that of several others, the author formulates her theory of social-cognitive development with respect to prejudice. The chapters are carefully and lucidly written. Having noted the above merits of the book I should mention some of the shortcomings of the research cited and the integration made so far. In using the cognitive-developmental approach of Piaget and Kohlberg, the author stops short of delineating the age-related cognitive changes between the ages of 4 years (when prejudice begins) and 7 or 8 years (when cognitive changes enable prejudice to take a new turn). In addition, the cognitive-developmental approach to research on prejudice is promising but, so far, the promise has not fully materialized. A third source of disappointment pertains to the content of research on prejudice. Allowing for the fact that the bulk of research is generally done in the United States, there is so little information regarding prejudice against Canadian ethnic minorities. To new researchers the book provides a critical review of the research literature and of the methods to study prejudice in children. Where the book falls short is in providing advanced sophisticated studies and understanding of developmental changes from childhood to adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
