Exploring the Out-Group Homogeneity Effect Among Arab Children in Israel: The Roles of Religion, Contact, and Group Identification

Abstract

The out-group homogeneity effect has been found to contribute to adults' inter-group biases. Three studies examined whether 5- and 8-year-old Arab (i.e., minority) children in Israel also manifest this effect (March 2017–January 2020). Arab children from different religious affiliations and social environments (N = 272, 54% females) were asked to choose either a homogeneous or a heterogeneous sample of group members to infer if a given property (biological or psychological) was true of a whole group: either the participant's in-group (Arabs) or out-group (Jews). Overall, differently from Jewish (i.e., majority) Israeli children, Arab children did not exhibit the out-group homogeneity effect. Nevertheless, there were indications that religious affiliation, social environment, and group identification affected children's responses.