Shutts, and R. King created the study materials. R. King collected the data for the study. K. Scott and A. Cochrane conducted data analyses. K. Scott wrote the manuscript. All authors provided feedback on the manuscript and approved of the final submission.
People who are in close relationships tend to do and like the same things, a phenomenon termed the "homophily principle." The present research probed for evidence of the homophily principle in 4-to 6-year-old children. Across two experiments, participants (N = 327; 166 girls, 161 boys; located in the Midwestern United States) were asked to predict the closeness of two people based on their preferences. Participants in Experiment 1 indicated that people with a shared preference or a shared dispreference were more closely affiliated than people whose preferences diverged, suggesting inferences of homophily. Furthermore, children were not only relying on the emotional valences expressed: They expected people with a shared preference to be closer than people who expressed positive emotions about different items and expected people with a shared dispreference to be closer than people who expressed negative emotions about different items. Experiment 2 replicated and extended the main findings of Experiment 1 with more naturalistic stimuli. The present studies provide strong evidence that young children apply the homophily principle to their reasoning about social relationships.
Public Significance StatementThis research tested whether 4-to 6-year-old children expect people with similar preferences to be in close relationships (e.g., friends). Reflecting awareness of this phenomenon, children rated people who liked or disliked the same item as closer friends than people who (a) evaluated the same item differently or (b) evaluated different items. These findings are among the first to demonstrate children's awareness of the association between similarity and affiliation.
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