A lot of what children know about the world they learn it from external sources: parents, teachers, peer, TV, media, etc. Importantly, studies have shown that children are not passive acquirers of knowledge. Rather: a) they process the information based on their prior beliefs and biases, and b) they request information based on their knowledge gaps and interests. 

In our lab, we examine the process of children's acquisition of knowledge in the social domain. For instance, we ask: What do children want to know about people from different social groups? Who do children ask for information about social groups or other topics? Do they biasedly process information delivered by in- or out-group members, about in- or out-group members? How does information affect children's concepts and attitudes towards members of different groups? What are children's preferred sources of information, and how open are they to diverse sources?

For some of our recent studies in this field, check out these papers:

Nasie, M., Ben Yaakov, O., Nassir, Y., & Diesendruck, G. (2022). Children’s biased preference for information about in-and out-groups. Developmental Psychology, 58(3), 493.

Nasie, M., & Diesendruck, G. (2020). What children want to know about in‐and out‐groups, and how knowledge affects their intergroup attitudes. Social Development, 29(2), 443-460.