Game of Prejudice

Children and adolescents are often revered as powerful symbols of hope, representing the future and embodying the potential for positive change. However, early stages of life can also give rise to the development of immoral tendencies and anti-social behaviors. This paper examines the prevalence and possible underlying causes of discrimination among adolescents. Specifically, we examine how discriminatory preferences may vary depending on two common type of decisions -selecting group members versus sharing a pie. We find that even in low-stakes settings, there is sizable ingroup bias when individuals have the opportunity to include someone from the minority ethnicity as part of their ingroup. However, when asked to share a pie, the prevalence of discrimination decreases. Notably, discrimination largely stems from taste-based animosity with no evidence of statistical discrimination or inaccurate beliefs. Furthermore, adolescents curb discriminatory choices when the price of prejudice becomes prohibitively high. Our results have important implications for the design and timing of anti-discriminatory policies and programs.