1. Effects of Mood on Children’s Stigmatization of Overweight Peers
Candace L. Lassiter & Janet J. Boseovski
University of North Carolina Greensboro
Effects of Mood on Children’s Stigmatization of Overweight Peers
Results 4
Conclusion 3
Behavioral Predictions & Friendship Endorsement Chi-square analyses were conducted to examine the dependence of behavioral predictions and friendship endorsements on mood. Overall, behavioral predictions, χ2 (2, 45) = 5.42, p = .07 and friendship endorsements, χ2 (2, 45) = 7.27, p = .03 were significantly dependent on mood. Follow-up analyses showed that children in the positive group made more “help” predictions and more friendship endorsements than those in the neutral group (χ2 (1, 30) = 3.29, p = .07; χ2 (1, 30) = 4.89, p = .03) and children in the negative group made less of both than children in the positive group (χ2 (1, 32) = 5.23, p = .02; χ2 (1, 32) = 7.07, p = .01).
Trait Attributions A similar pattern of results was found for children’s trait attributions. A one-way between-subjects ANOVA revealed that there was a marginally significant effect of mood type on trait attributions F (2, 38) = 2.96, p = .06. Tukey post-hoc comparisons indicated that children in the positive group (M = 4.65, SE = .15) made more positive trait attributions than those in the negative group (M = 3.47, SE = .46). Differences between the neutral group (M = 4.00, SE = .55) and the other two groups were not statistically significant. 1
Background
Because children typically display negative stereotypes about overweight peers (Sigelman, 1991) and positive moods have been shown to elicit heuristic processing, we expected that these stereotypes would be more accessible to children in positive moods. Surprisingly, children in positive moods were more positive toward overweight peers. However, children of this age display a positivity bias (Boseovski & Lee, 2008, 2009). If this is the most salient stereotype that children hold, then heuristic processing would lead to more positive judgments. These quick judgments may also lead children to overlook the actor’s weight, whereas a systematic processing style may make the actor’s weight a more salient attribute. When weight information is made more salient, negative judgments follow.
Other research has suggested that in young children, negative mood decreases altruism, but the opposite is true for adults (Cialdini & Kendrick, 1976). The present findings may then reflect a decrease in children’s perceptions of altruistic behaviors when in a negative mood.
The influence of mood on social information processing is important to understand, as many of children’s social judgments occur in an emotional context. These findings also shed light on the age differences in the effects of mood on cognition. Although the cognitive processing styles induced by mood may be similar across development (e.g., heuristic versus systematic), the stereotypes that are made more or less available are quite different. This information may help to identify why certain contexts breed more stigmatization than others.
Children’s ability to interpret social information appropriately is critical for optimal psychosocial functioning (e.g., peer relations; Crick & Dodge, 1994). Research with adults indicates that emotions are influential in social information processing. Positive moods encourage heuristic processing and, therefore, the use of social stereotypes (Ashby, Isen & Turken, 1999). In contrast, negative moods encourage systematic processing and thus lead to reductions in social stereotyping.
Preschoolers also engage in negative social stereotyping (e.g., obesity, and physical handicaps, Sigelman, 1991) and this occurs in emotionally laden social situations (Kaiser & Major, 2004).
In the current study, we examined children’s stereotypes of overweight peers. Studying this particular group is important because the number of overweight children continues to increase and weight is a particularly salient characteristic to young children. Thus, stereotypes about overweight people are likely highly accessible to young children. As stereotyping occurs in emotional contexts, we examined the impact of mood on children’s judgments about overweight peers. We predicted that children in positive moods would engage in more stereotyping than children in negative or neutral moods. 2
Method
Figure 1. Percentage of Positive Behavioral Predictions, Friendship Judgments, and Trait Attributions by Mood.
Forty-five 5- to 6-year-olds were randomly assigned to a positive, negative or neutral mood condition. Self-generated imagery was used to induce positive and negative moods (i.e., Can you think of something that makes you happy/sad?), whereas counting was used in the neutral condition. Then, participants heard a story about an overweight character who had the opportunity to help a recipient (i.e., help put away the recipient’s book bag; Peterson & Boseovski, in preparation). Participants were then asked three types of questions, adapted from Boseovski and Lee (2006).
Behavioral Prediction : “Will Mandy help or not help?”
“Help” scored as 1, and “Will not help” was scored as 0.
Trait Attribution : “What kind of girl/boy is she/he?”
Scored 0 for “very mean,” 1 for “meaner,” 2 “a little mean,” 3 for “a little nice,” 4 for “nicer,” and 5 for “very nice.”
Friendship Endorsement: “Would you want to be friends with Mandy?”
“Yes” was scored as 1, and “No” was scored as 0.
% Positive Judgments