Social inclusion and exclusion in same-race and interracial peer encounters.

This study investigated children's and adolescents' predictions of inclusion and evaluations of exclusion in interracial and same-race peer contexts. The sample (N = 246) consisted of African American (n = 115) and European American (n = 131) children and adolescents who judged the likelihood of including a new peer, evaluated the group's decision to exclude the new peer, and provided reasons for their judgments. European American participants, particularly adolescents, viewed same-race inclusion as more likely than interracial inclusion. In contrast, African American participants viewed interracial and same-race inclusion to be just as likely, and evaluated all forms of exclusion to be more wrong than did their European American counterparts. The findings are discussed with respect to peer messages about interracial peer encounters and the conditions that are necessary for prejudice reduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).