Evaluations and Perceptions of Self, Ingroup, and Outgroup: Comparisons Between Mexican-American and European-American Children

The present research examined evaluations of self, ingroup members, and outgroup members among young Mexican-American and European-American children. European-American children showed a greater discrepancy between evaluations of themselves and other ingroup members, and perceived fewer ingroup members as like themselves, relative to Mexican-American children. European-American children also evaluated ingroup targets more positively than outgroup targets, and perceived substantially fewer outgroup targets to be like them, while Mexican-American children showed more balanced perceptions and evaluations of ingroup and outgroup targets. Considerations of group differences in status and culture are discussed, along with implications of these findings for research on children's self-evaluations.