Describe the differences between in-group and out-group biases, including how such biases contribute to the development of prejudice

What will be an ideal response?

Studies in diverse Western nations confirm that by age 5 to 6, white children generally evaluate their own racial group favorably and other racial groups less favorably or negatively—biases that also characterize many adults. In-group favoritism emerges first; children simply prefer their own group, generalizing from self to similar others. Out-group prejudice requires a more challenging social comparison between in-group and out-group. But it does not take long for white children to acquire negative attitudes toward ethnic minority out-groups, especially when such attitudes are encouraged by circumstances in their environments.
With age, children pay more attention to inner traits. The capacity to classify the social world in multiple ways enables school-age children to understand that people can be both "the same" and "different"—those who look different need not think, feel, or act differently. Consequently, voicing of negative attitudes toward minorities declines. After age 7 to 8, both majority and minority children express in-group favoritism, and white children's prejudice against out-group members often weakens. Most school-age children and adolescents are also quick to verbalize that it is wrong to exclude others from peer-group and learning activities on the basis of skin color—discrimination they evaluate as unfair.