Social Identity and the Handicapping Functions of Stereotypes: Children's Understanding of Mental and Physical Handicap

32 junior high pupils (mean age 10.3 yrs) used the terms "mental handicap," "physical handicap," and the colloquial term "divvy" in a pilot study that explored the Ss' understanding of different forms of disability and handicap. In the main study, 48 junior high school students (mean age 10.15 yrs) rated a male target child ascribed one of these labels (or the label "normal"), and completed a measure of social distance from that target. Ss did not distinguish among the attributes of the different nonnormal labels, but did differentiate between these and normal, showing that they generally employed a "normal/abnormal" categorization of others, In line with predictions derived from social identity theory (H. Tajfel, 1981), social stereotypes were unaffected by interpersonal contact.