Emily Gerdin, Devyani Goel, James P Dunlea, Larisa Heiphetz Solomon
{"title":"Intergenerational inferences about punishment: Judgments of children of incarcerated parents across development.","authors":"Emily Gerdin, Devyani Goel, James P Dunlea, Larisa Heiphetz Solomon","doi":"10.1037/dev0002060","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Some scholars argue that punishment communicates information about punished individuals. We extended this theorizing by asking whether laypeople (237 5- to 6-year-olds, 221 7- to 8-year-olds, 220 adults) understand punishment as communicating messages about individuals not directly implicated in punishment-related scenarios and how this understanding might change across development. Three studies asked U.S. 5- to 8-year-olds and adults to indicate the extent to which they believe that adults' incarceration is attributable to their biological relatives. In Study 1, children were more likely than adults to indicate that people grow up to become incarcerated because of an incarcerated biological mother, and these judgments generalized across members of different racial groups. In Study 2, 5- to 6-year-olds, versus 7- to 8-year-olds and adults, more readily predicted that individuals born to an incarcerated mother would have contact with the legal system in the future. Study 3 showed evidence of age-related changes in essentialism using a questionnaire but did not find such evidence in a task that pitted essentialist and nonessentialist explanations against each other, suggesting that 5- to 6-year-olds may view both biological and social factors as important contributors to incarceration. Taken together, these studies highlight the importance of social learning and cognitive development in shaping reasoning about punishment's messages. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":48464,"journal":{"name":"Developmental Psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Developmental Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0002060","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Some scholars argue that punishment communicates information about punished individuals. We extended this theorizing by asking whether laypeople (237 5- to 6-year-olds, 221 7- to 8-year-olds, 220 adults) understand punishment as communicating messages about individuals not directly implicated in punishment-related scenarios and how this understanding might change across development. Three studies asked U.S. 5- to 8-year-olds and adults to indicate the extent to which they believe that adults' incarceration is attributable to their biological relatives. In Study 1, children were more likely than adults to indicate that people grow up to become incarcerated because of an incarcerated biological mother, and these judgments generalized across members of different racial groups. In Study 2, 5- to 6-year-olds, versus 7- to 8-year-olds and adults, more readily predicted that individuals born to an incarcerated mother would have contact with the legal system in the future. Study 3 showed evidence of age-related changes in essentialism using a questionnaire but did not find such evidence in a task that pitted essentialist and nonessentialist explanations against each other, suggesting that 5- to 6-year-olds may view both biological and social factors as important contributors to incarceration. Taken together, these studies highlight the importance of social learning and cognitive development in shaping reasoning about punishment's messages. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
期刊介绍:
Developmental Psychology ® publishes articles that significantly advance knowledge and theory about development across the life span. The journal focuses on seminal empirical contributions. The journal occasionally publishes exceptionally strong scholarly reviews and theoretical or methodological articles. Studies of any aspect of psychological development are appropriate, as are studies of the biological, social, and cultural factors that affect development. The journal welcomes not only laboratory-based experimental studies but studies employing other rigorous methodologies, such as ethnographies, field research, and secondary analyses of large data sets. We especially seek submissions in new areas of inquiry and submissions that will address contradictory findings or controversies in the field as well as the generalizability of extant findings in new populations. Although most articles in this journal address human development, studies of other species are appropriate if they have important implications for human development. Submissions can consist of single manuscripts, proposed sections, or short reports.