Research in developmental psychology helps explain how prejudice develops across childhood and adolescence, and which developmental processes (like moral reasoning, identity, and norms) shape an individual’s level of prejudice at any given time. By linking stages of social-cognitive development with attitudes toward groups, it becomes possible to interpret a person’s prejudiced beliefs as part of a developmental trajectory rather than as isolated opinions.

Key idea: prejudice as a developmental outcome

Developmental work treats prejudice not just as a set of hostile feelings, but as something that grows out of how children learn about groups, fairness, and social rules over time. This perspective looks at when children start to show in‑group favoritism, how they understand fairness and justice, and how they weigh group loyalty against moral principles.

  • Prejudice is linked to the emergence of social‑cognitive abilities such as perspective taking and moral reasoning, which become more sophisticated with age.
  • Researchers track how children’s early preferences (e.g., liking their own group more) can harden into stable stereotypes and prejudices in adolescence and adulthood.
  • Developmental studies show that prejudice is shaped in everyday peer interactions, not only by explicit teaching from adults.

Understanding this developmental path allows interpretation of an individual’s prejudice level in terms of where they are in their social‑cognitive and identity development rather than seeing it as a fixed trait.

Core developmental theories that guide understanding

Several developmental theories give concrete tools for thinking about an individual’s prejudice:

  • Developmental intergroup theory
    • Explains how children come to notice social categories (race, gender, religion) and decide which ones matter.
* Highlights processes like categorization, salience of group differences, and the messages children get about which groups are “us” vs. “them.”

* An individual with strong prejudice may have grown up in settings where group boundaries were highly emphasized and consistently linked with stereotypes.
  • Social‑cognitive / social reasoning developmental models
    • Integrate group identity and group norms with growing moral ideas about fairness and rights.
* Show that when group norms support exclusion, children and adolescents often prioritize loyalty over fairness; when norms support inclusion, they are more likely to reject prejudice.

* An individual’s prejudiced judgments can be interpreted as giving more weight to group‑norm considerations than to moral principles about equal treatment.
  • Prejudice theories (fixed vs malleable)
    • Some children come to see prejudice itself as a fixed quality (“people who are prejudiced always stay that way”), others as changeable.
* Those who see prejudice as malleable are more willing to engage across group lines, which tends to limit the growth of strong prejudices.

* If an adult views prejudice as “just how people are,” that belief may trace back to a childhood theory that prejudice is fixed and inevitable.

How developmental research helps read an individual’s prejudice level

Developmental psychology does not “measure” one person’s prejudice only by a single score; instead, it offers lenses to interpret their attitudes in context.

  1. Age and stage of social understanding
    • In younger children, mild in‑group favoritism and simple stereotypes often reflect early categorization and limited perspective taking.
 * In adolescents and adults, more rigid or hostile prejudice suggests that early group biases have been reinforced over time rather than challenged by moral reasoning and diverse contact.
  1. Moral reasoning versus group loyalty
    • Researchers examine whether a person justifies exclusion using moral reasons (“it’s unfair to treat them that way”) or group‑based reasons (“our group doesn’t mix with theirs”).
 * A higher level of prejudice is often indicated when group norms and identity routinely override fairness concerns in the person’s justifications.
  1. Internal motives and norms around expressing prejudice
    • Work on motivation to express prejudice shows some people feel little internal pressure to be non‑prejudiced and may even feel licensed by their environment to show bias.
 * When individuals believe their peers or community approve of biased talk, they are more likely to express and maintain higher levels of prejudice.
  1. History of intergroup contact and socialization
    • Developmental studies document how family attitudes, school climates, and media shape children’s images of “outgroups.”
 * An individual raised with limited positive contact and strongly segregated or hostile norms is more likely to exhibit entrenched prejudice in adulthood.

Using developmental findings in practice

Developmental psychology also points to practical ways to understand and potentially shift an individual’s prejudice level.

  • Assess the developmental roots
    • Ask when the person first remembers hearing negative messages about the outgroup and how those were framed (moral vs “just the way things are”).
* Explore which important adults and peers modeled inclusive vs exclusive behavior during their childhood and adolescence.
  • Look at current social reasoning
    • Invite the person to explain why they think a group should or shouldn’t be included in certain roles or spaces.
* Their explanations reveal whether they are relying mainly on stereotypes, group loyalty, perceived threat, or moral concerns.
  • Consider their beliefs about change
    • Developmental work shows that when people believe prejudice can change, they are more open to cross‑group interaction and to revising their attitudes.
* Exploring whether someone thinks “prejudice is just natural” or “people can learn to be less biased” helps gauge both their current level and their openness to growth.
  • Use age‑appropriate interventions
    • With children and adolescents, interventions that change peer norms, encourage inclusive bystander behavior, and highlight fairness can reduce prejudiced attitudes.
* With adults, structured intergroup contact and critical reflection on early socialization can help challenge long‑standing prejudices built up over development.

Why this developmental lens matters today

Recent developmental research emphasizes creating inclusive school and peer environments to prevent prejudice from becoming entrenched in the first place. In contemporary diverse societies, understanding an individual’s prejudice level through their developmental history helps distinguish between early, more malleable biases and deeply rooted prejudices that require more intensive, long‑term efforts to address.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.