Bringing Intersectionality into Research on Children's Cognitive Development

One of the fundamental tasks children must accomplish to successfully navigate the social world is to learn and use social categories. Most research on how children learn about social categories focuses on one category at a time; for example, how children might understand race or gender. However, children may also integrate social categories (e.g., noting and using race and gender simultaneously). In this talk, I will provide evidence that children integrate categories from the moment they meet someone and that these representations are meaningful for the development of children's beliefs and attitudes. I end by arguing that taking this intersectional perspective on social cognitive development is important for both theory development and social equity.