Browsing by Author "Palmer, Sally B."

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British adolescents are more likely than children to support bystanders who challenge exclusion of immigrant peers
(Frontiers Media S.A., 2022-08-08) Gönültaş, Seçil; Ketzitzidou Argyri, Eirini; Yüksel, Ayşe Şule; Palmer, Sally B.; McGuire, Luke; Killen, Melanie; Rutland, Adam
The present study examined British children’s and adolescents’ individual and perceived group evaluations of a challenger when a member of one’s own group excludes a British national or an immigrant newcomer to the school (Turkish or Australian) from participating in a group activity. Participants included British children (n = 110, Mage in years = 9.69, SD = 1.07, 44 girls, aged 8–11) and adolescents (n = 193, Mage in years = 14.16, SD = 0.92, 104 girls, aged 13–16), who were inducted into their group and heard hypothetical scenarios in which a member of their own group expressed a desire to exclude the newcomer from joining their activity. Subsequently, participants heard that another member of the ingroup challenged the exclusionary act by stating that they should be inclusive. Children’s and adolescents’ individual evaluations of the bystander who challenged the social exclusion of an immigrant peer were more positive than their perceived group evaluations, recognizing that groups are often exclusionary. Only adolescents but not children differed in their individual and perceived group evaluations in the social exclusion of British peers. When the newcomer was an immigrant peer, adolescents were more likely to evaluate the challenger positively in both their individual and perceived group evaluations compared to children. Further, children, compared to adolescents, were more likely to reason about social and group norms to justify their evaluations only when the excluded peer was an immigrant but not when the excluded peer was British. Adolescents were more likely to reason about fairness, rights, and equality. The findings indicate that exclusionary group norms surrounding immigrants begin in childhood. Interventions that focus on changing group norms to be more inclusive could be effective in reducing prejudicial attitudes toward immigrants in childhood. Copyright © 2022 Gönültaş, Ketzitzidou Argyri, Yüksel, Palmer, McGuire, Killen and Rutland.
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Peer group norms affect adolescents' bystander social cognitions
(American Psychological Association, 2025-09-26) Gönültaş, Seçil; Argyri, Eirini K.; Yueksel, Ayse Sule; Mcguire, Luke; Palmer, Sally B.; Killen, Melanie; Rutland, Adam
This study examined the impact of peer norms on judgments and reasoning about bystander responses to the social exclusion of immigrants among 431 British early (Mage = 11.67, SD = 1.64) and late (Mage = 16.73, SD = 0.87) adolescents. Participants were randomly assigned to experimental conditions in which ingroup and outgroup peer norms were either inclusive or exclusive. Subsequently, they read a story in which one British peer excluded an immigrant peer while another British peer challenged the exclusion. Participants rated their individual and perceived group evaluation of the challenger. Further, they were asked to evaluate how likely their peer group would be to support them if they challenged the exclusion. Results showed that only late adolescents exposed to the inclusive ingroup norm were more likely to perceive that their group would evaluate bystander challenging positively than those exposed to the exclusive norm. Late adolescents perceived higher peer support for being inclusive when the outgroup held an inclusive norm compared to early adolescents. Results suggest a developmental shift during adolescence, with reasoning and evaluations of challenging social exclusion becoming increasingly related to perceived ingroup and outgroup norms. Further, inclusive ingroup norms were indirectly associated with greater challenging through perceived group support for both age groups. Promoting inclusive peer group norms in schools can foster bystander challenging of immigrant exclusion, which in turn can help provide a safe and peaceful school environment for all youth.