Preschoolers’ Emotional and Behavioral Responses Concerning Exclusion: Social Consensus Versus Authority Influences

The present study explored young children’s inclusion/exclusion decisions based on gender, skin color, and physical and sensorial disabilities. We also examined children’s emotions following these decisions and the explicit influence of peers (social consensus) and teachers (authority influence). Our sample consisted of 64 Romanian children, aged 4 to 6 years. Results suggested that the inclusion rates were relatively high (between 70% and 97%) when discussing potential inclusion/exclusion based on gender, color, or specific group membership. The highest inclusion rate (depending on gender, color, and disability) was for out-group members with no other specified characteristics. The lowest inclusion rates were related to disability, both physical and sensorial. Children’s behavioral and affective responses following the exclusion of out-group members were generally oriented toward active answers, i.e., children chose to actively intervene when witnessing exclusion based on skin color and disability. Finally, our results suggested that teachers’ influence (i.e., the authority) was stronger than the peers’ influence (i.e., social consensus).