The tendency to view groups as constituting essentially different categories emerges early in development. To date, most attempts at understanding the origins of this tendency have focused on cognitive processes. Drawing from social-psychological and evolutionary theory, I propose that motivations—in particular, a need to belong—may be foundational for the development of social essentialism. I review evidence indicating that this perspective not only is developmentally plausible but also may explain children’s tendency to consider intentional behaviors performed by in-group members as normative.

中文翻译：

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社会本质主义发展的动机观

在发展初期就出现了将群体视为本质上不同类别的趋势。迄今为止，大多数了解这种趋势起源的尝试都集中在认知过程上。从社会心理学和进化论的角度出发，我提出动机-尤其是归属感-可能是社会本质主义发展的基础。我回顾了表明这种观点不仅在发展上看似合理的证据，而且还可以解释儿童倾向于将小组内成员的故意行为视为规范的趋势。