ESSENTALISM IN ADOPTED OR DONOR CONCEIVED CHILDERN

Abstract

Research suggests that children tend to rely more on nature rather than nurture in how they explain people’s differences. This tendency is known as “social essentialism.” One way that researchers have demonstrated children’s early social essentialism is through the Adoption Task. In this task, children are told 5 different stories about a baby who was born to parents with Characteristic A but raised by parents with Characteristic B. Participants are then asked a question about what the baby will be like when it is older. Researchers have not yet examined how children who are adopted themselves perform on this task. This project investigates whether children who are adopted or donor conceived hold different levels of social essentialism compared to other children. In other words, do children who are adopted (by one or both parents) hold different ideas about nature vs. nurture? Eighty-six children completed a 5-trial Adoption Task. Their parents reported whether or not the child was traditionally conceived, and they completed a questionnaire measuring their own essentialist beliefs. The results indicate that children who are adopted or donor-conceived are marginally less essentialist than children who are traditionally conceived, particularly among older children in the sample. This effect did not reflect parents’ own essentialist beliefs. Preliminary results suggest that adopted or donor-conceived children may have reduced essentialist beliefs, which may come from these children noticing similarities between themselves and their parents.

Keywords: essentialism, adoption, donor convinced, nature, nurture, children, psychology.