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Past studies indicate that experiencing social diversity during childhood, such as through day care, shapes how individuals communicate in later life.
According to a recent study published in the NPJ Science of Learning, these early interactions can also help reduce the tendency to stereotype as one grows older.
Arjen Stolk, a senior researcher and assistant professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, states, “Children who spent more time in day care are more likely to challenge their own stereotypical assumptions during social encounters as adults. This enhances their ability to notice subtle differences in others they interact with.”
The research aimed to see if individuals would modify their behavior based on their perceptions of their interaction partner. Researchers utilized a nonverbal digital board game with around 100 participants from a larger longitudinal study conducted in the Netherlands.
In the game, participants were tasked with helping a partner they believed to be either a 5-year-old child or a 25-year-old adult find hidden clues on the board. Each time the partner ‘changed,’ participants received an image of who they were reportedly playing with. However, all participants were actually paired with an adult throughout the game.
Participants spent slightly more time on the target location when they thought they were interacting with a child, reflecting the common stereotype that children are less competent than adults.
Interestingly, the partner’s actions remained the same regardless of whether they were perceived as a child or an adult.
The team examined the demographics of the participants and found that those who attended day care regularly before turning 3 were quicker to discard their stereotypes by age 17, treating both child and adult partners similarly. In contrast, those without this early exposure were more likely to cling to their stereotypical beliefs for a longer period. This observation was consistent no matter the participants’ socioeconomic backgrounds or whether they had siblings.
Saskia Koch, the lead author and postdoctoral researcher at the Donders Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands, notes, “Participants who attended day care were more adaptable in their social interactions with others.”
The co-authors conclude that the ability to adjust flexibly in social settings is closely linked to the enriching experiences provided by day care.
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