Linguistic but not minimal group membership modulates spontaneous level‐2 perspective interference in 8‐year‐old children

Abstract This paper presents evidence that social categorization affects spontaneous level‐2 visual perspective taking (L2PT) differently depending on the type of social category in 8‐year‐old. In Experiment 1 ( N = 46), children were paired with same‐age peers, who belonged to the same or a different minimal group. In Experiment 2 ( N = 42) children participated with an adult confederate, who either shared their cultural group membership or was a member of an out‐group (inferred from a linguistic cue, accent). In Experiment 3 ( N = 80), children were acting together with an adult confederate who was at the same time a member of the same or a different minimal group and shared their linguistic membership. This allowed us to investigate how these social categories influence each other. Spontaneous L2PT was not affected by the minimal group manipulation. However, accent weakened L2PT when it implied that the task partner belonged to an out‐group. When both category cues were present, accent—that could be an indicator of shared knowledge attribution—played a more pronounced role in attenuating L2PT. It is argued that social categories that are indicative of the partner's knowledge states but not ad hoc groups influence spontaneous mentalizing.