In two studies, the role of nature experiences and social norms during childhood is explored next to adulthood biospheric values, connectedness to nature, environmental identity, and objective knowledge in relation to pro-environmental behaviors. Study 1 (N = 185) tested the hypothesized model in the realm of general pro-environmental behaviors and sustainable fruit consumption on a sample of students. Study 2 (N = 155) tested the model in the realm of sustainable seafood consumer choice on a general population sample. Path analyses show consistent results across samples. Results show that childhood nature experiences and exposure to pro-environmental social norms during childhood are related to adulthood development of connectedness with nature and biospheric values; these, in turn, help in shaping adulthood environmental self-identity ultimately influencing the enactment of sustainable food choices during adulthood. These findings point toward the relevance of childhood experiences for pro-environmental behaviors as compared to the provision of information. The role of objective knowledge across samples is inconsistent, thus requiring future investigations.

This study evaluated the impact of a school-based program designed to reduce implicit prejudice towards migrants in fifth-grade school children. The program used empathy and perspective taking and direct and indirect contact as strategies to reduce ethnic prejudice. Multiple activities were used, including drawings by migrant children as instruments to promote inclusive behaviors. One hundred and five students were divided into two groups (control, experimental), and the children in each completed the Child-IAT (Implicit Association Test) before and after the program, to measure their implicit prejudice. Only the experimental group participated in the program. The results showed a significant reduction in the implicit prejudice in the experimental group after the educational program, but not in the control group. The results are discussed considering the practical implications of such a school program.

Racial concepts emerge in preschool age, and affect children's evaluations of others’ actions. This research investigated whether 2.5‐year‐old and 7‐year‐old children's (N = 160; 100% White) evaluations may be influenced by an initial racial bias when both out‐group and in‐group protagonists were evaluated directly by attributing the responsibility of negative or positive outcomes (i.e., fair or unfair distributions of resources). After seeing each of two familiarization events, displaying fair and unfair distributions performed by a hidden distributor, toddlers were asked to assign positive and negative outcomes to two distributors that were portrayed on drawings (Experiment 1) or photographs (Experiments 2–3) of White or Black faces. Seven‐year‐old children were assessed with the same forced‐choice character task by using photographs (Experiment 4). Toddlers showed a significant tendency to attribute a fair distribution of resources to Black faces only when these were shown by photographs. Conversely, 7‐year‐olds manifested a pro‐White/anti‐Black racial bias. These findings support prior literature on the age‐related development of race prejudice starting not before the three years of life, and shed light on an initial state that is aimed at intergroup coalitions.

Studies regarding the experience of children in schools’ outdoor environments report several benefits of nature on children’s cognitive, emotional, and physical development; thus, there is a need to systematically assess the characteristics of children’s place experience considering their own activities and social interactions. The present study investigated the perceptions of the physical environment and children-environment interactions during recess-time in natural (vs. built) schoolyards. In a between-subjects quasi-experiment in two Italian Primary schools, we collected and analyzed 298 children’s drawings and written descriptions regarding the activities they engage during recess time, developing a detailed coding system. Results showed how during the green break (vs. grey) children significantly engaged in more exploratory behaviors, rough and tumble behaviors, and active conversation, while in the grey break their play was more structured and left less space for free activities. In drawings, the natural environment (vs. built) is pictured as significantly more green, open, and rich in biodiversity and details, compared to the built environment that is depicted as grey, closed, and more crowded. Implications are discussed in both theoretical and practical terms on how natural schoolyards can afford different place experiences and play and non-play behaviors in children, contributing to improve their well-being during school-time.

The goal of this intensive longitudinal study was to trace the developmental trajectories of infant pointing production, through consideration of the modality (i.e. pointing alone vs pointing–vocal coupling) and the communicative intention (i.e. imperative vs declarative). Multilevel analysis was used to model the normative trend and the individual differences in pointing trajectories. Eighteen Italian infants participated in this study and were followed monthly from 9 to 18 months of age. The infants were involved in a structured task designed to elicit imperative and declarative pointing (T-POINT). The proportion of pointing for each participant as a function of age, modality (pointing alone vs pointing–vocal coupling) and context (imperative vs declarative), and the interactional effects, were modelled. Random effects among participants for age trends were estimated. This analysis defined the following: (1) a significant linear increase in pointing production, without and with vocalisation; (2) a significant increase in pointing–vocal coupling over pointing produced alone, in an accelerated form; (3) that the context does not appear to moderate linear and quadratic trends; and (4) that infants differed in their developmental trajectories with respect to the quadratic component, which means that some of the infants developed faster with age than the others. Results are discussed with respect to the hypothesis of strong integration between different systems of communication, further underlining the progression of pointing–vocal coupling.