Children's social evaluations of occupations involving physical vs. intellectual labor

This study investigated how children evaluate people whose occupations involve intellectual or physical labor. Children made inferences about the traits (N = 66, ages 6-11, 33 female, 42% White, tested in 2024) and hierarchical positions (N = 66, ages 6-11, 33 female, 53% White, tested in 2024) of people with different occupations. Analyses revealed that children thought intellectual laborers were smarter and higher in social rank, while physical laborers were more hard-working. Children's tendency to view intellectual laborers as smarter and higher in social rank increased with age; their tendency to associate physical laborers with hard work lessened with age. The findings reveal children's early use of occupational information when evaluating others. Furthermore, this study offers a method for studying children's apprehension of social roles-a critical aspect of children's intuitive sociology.