Learning the rules of the game: The role of generic “you” and “we” in shaping children's interpretations of norms

Abstract

A critical skill of childhood is learning social norms. We examine whether the generic pronouns “you” and “we,” which frame information as applying to people in general rather than to a specific individual, facilitate this process. In one pre‐registered experiment conducted online between 2020 and 2021, children 4‐ to 9‐year‐old primarily living in the midwestern U.S. (N = 146, 75 girls, 71 boys, Mage = 7.14, SD = 1.69, 82% White) interpreted actions described with generic pronouns (vs. “I”) as normatively correct and selected the speaker who used generic pronouns as the rule‐follower, particularly when generic pronouns were presented first. There were no significant effects of age. These results illustrate how generic pronouns influence how children discern unfamiliar norms and form interpersonal judgments.

Looking beyond the obvious.

“…As with other generics, generic "you" extends beyond the here-and-now to express an abstract concept (people in general). And as with other generics, the generic meaning of "you" emerges early in development (Orvell et al, 2018(Orvell et al, , 2019(Orvell et al, , 2023. What is particularly striking here is that the very This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”

“…As with other generics, generic “you” extends beyond the here-and-now to express an abstract concept (people in general). And as with other generics, the generic meaning of “you” emerges early in development (Orvell et al, 2018, 2019, 2023). What is particularly striking here is that the very same word is simultaneously the ultimate expression of the concrete here-and-now (the verbal equivalent of pointing to the addressee with a finger) as well as the ultimate expression of a nonspecific, generic meaning.…”