CHILDREN'S COMMUNICATION ACCURACY RELATED TO RACE AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

Abstract

BALDWIN, THELMA L.; McFARLANE, PAUL T.; and GARVEY, CATHERINE J. Children's Communication Accuracy Related to Race and Socioeconomic Status. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1971, 42, 345-357. 96.fifthgrade children were arranged in dyads with peers of the same sex, SES, and race. Male and female, lowand middle-SES, Negro and white dyads were observed working on a task which required the accurate communication of descriptive information. Middle-SES dyads were significantly more accurate than low-SES dyads. White dyads were significantly more accurate than Negro dyads. Observed differences could not be attributed to differences in the mean dyad IQ or to differences in amount of verbal production. Differences between SES groups were partly explained by differences in the number of critical descriptive attributes communicated.