Learning about social inequalities increases children's moral and prosocial actions to support marginalized groups

Abstract

Drawing on intergroup contact theory and the social reasoning developmental model, these studies investigated how perceiving (Study 1) and learning about (Study 2) social inequalities involving immigrants in the U.S. informed 8- to 11-year-old American children's moral and prosocial actions to support immigrant peers and families. In Study 1 (N = 132, 64% girls, 61% White, in 2024), children with stronger perceptions of inequalities, and in some cases children with more positive attitudes about immigrants, took more moral and prosocial actions (βs .24–.70). In Study 2 (N = 458, 49% girls, 42% White, in 2024–2025), children received either evidence of inequalities via stories about immigrant families navigating social systems (critical contact), evidence of cooperative relationships via stories about intergroup friendships (positive contact), or both types of evidence via stories combining family and friendship (critical + positive contact). Critical contact increased children's perceptions of inequalities (βs = .19) with positive effects on actions (βs .18–.28). Although positive contact did not change children's intergroup attitudes, these attitudes were also associated with actions (βs .13–.72). Overall, children who learned about inequalities in their societies through developmentally tailored stories subsequently took more moral and prosocial actions to support marginalized groups.