Cultural transmission of social essentialism

Rhodes, Marjorie; Leslie, Sarah-Jane; Tworek, Christina M.

doi:10.1073/pnas.1208951109

Cited by 412Social and Intergroup PsychologyCategorization, perception, and languageChild and Animal Learning Development

Cultural transmission of social essentialism

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Rhodes, Marjorie, Leslie, Sarah-Jane, Tworek, Christina M.·2012·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI 10.1073/pnas.1208951109PMC PMC3427061

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Abstract

Social essentialism entails the belief that certain social categories (e.g., gender, race) mark fundamentally distinct kinds of people. Essentialist beliefs have pernicious consequences, supporting social stereotyping and contributing to prejudice. How does social essentialism develop? In the studies reported here, we tested the hypothesis that generic language facilitates the cultural transmission of social essentialism. Two studies found that hearing generic language about a novel social category diverse for race, ethnicity, age, and sex led 4-y-olds and adults to develop essentialist beliefs about that social category. A third study documented that experimentally inducing parents to hold essentialist beliefs about a novel social category led them to produce more generic language when discussing the category with their children. Thus, generic language facilitates the transmission of essentialist beliefs about social categories from parents to children.

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Generics can increase essentialist thinking.
“can lead to higher rates of essentialism (41).”
From Generic language in scientific communication (2019) · cites this paper as [41]

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Authors: Rhodes, M., Leslie, S.-J., & Tworek, C. M.
Affiliations: New York University (US)
Princeton University (US)
ORCID: Rhodes, Marjorie
Leslie, Sarah-Jane
Venue: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
Published: 2012-08-06
Volume: 109
Issue: 34
Pages: 13526-13531
ISSN: 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
1091-6490
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1208951109
PMC: PMC3427061
OpenAlex: W2064143191
Cited by: 412
References: 52
Citations by year: 2026: 21 · 2025: 39 · 2024: 35 · 2023: 52 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 54 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 43 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 37 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 3
FWCI: 44.31
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Locations: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Categorization, perception, and language
Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
Keywords: social essentialism, cultural transmission, generic language, social categorization, social stereotyping, prejudice, children's beliefs, race, age, sex
MeSH terms: Adolescent, Adult, Child, Preschool, Cognition, Culture, Ethnicity, Female, Humans, Language, Male, Prejudice, Social Behavior, Social Identification, Social Perception, Stereotyping, Young Adult

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Cultural transmission of social essentialism

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