Race-Based Humor and Peer Group Dynamics in Adolescence: Bystander Intervention and Social Exclusion

Adolescents' evaluations of discriminatory race-based humor and their expectations about peer responses to discrimination were investigated in 8th- (Mage = 13.80) and 10th-grade (Mage = 16.11) primarily European-American participants (N = 256). Older adolescents judged race-based humor as more...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child development 2016-09, Vol.87 (5), p.1379-1391
Main Authors: Mulvey, Kelly Lynn, Palmer, Sally B., Abrams, Dominic
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior - psychology
Adolescents
Bullying
Bystanders
Child development
Child psychology
Discrimination
Female
Group dynamics
Group Processes
Humans
Humor
Intervention
Male
Peer Group
Peer relationships
Prejudice
Race
Racial discrimination
Racism
Racism - psychology
Social Behavior
Social Distance
Social exclusion
Social Perception
SPECIAL SECTION
Special Section: Discrimination, Social Exclusion, and Intergroup Attitudes: Equity and Justice in Developmental Science
Welfare
Wit and Humor as Topic - psychology
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Summary:Adolescents' evaluations of discriminatory race-based humor and their expectations about peer responses to discrimination were investigated in 8th- (Mage = 13.80) and 10th-grade (Mage = 16.11) primarily European-American participants (N = 256). Older adolescents judged race-based humor as more acceptable than did younger adolescents and were less likely to expect peer intervention. Participants who rejected discrimination were more likely to reference welfare/rights and prejudice and to anticipate that peers would intervene. Showing awareness of group processes, adolescents who rejected race-based humor believed that peers who intervened would be more likely to be excluded. They also disapproved of exclusion more than did participants who supported race-based humor. Results expose the complexity of situations involving subtle discrimination. Implications for bullying interventions are discussed.
ISSN:0009-3920
1467-8624
DOI:10.1111/cdev.12600