YOUNG CHILDRENS AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIAL-CLASS DIFFERENCES

Preschoolers’ awareness and understanding of social class differences were examined in this study. Ninety-three preschoolers, half from low-socioeconomic-status (SES) and half from middle-SES families, sorted and described photographs of people depicted as either wealthy or poor. Spontaneous references to social class occurred rarely, but when specifically asked to identify rich and poor people, the subjects were quite accurate. Their concepts about the nature and causes of social class differences were limited and depended on concrete cues. Most children said that rich and poor people were more different than similar but were divided in their responses about whether members of the two groups could be friends. There were virtually no age or SES effects, but some sex differences were found. Girls appeared to be more aware of social class cues than boys. © 1991 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.