Wishes of White and Mexican American Kindergarten Children: An Index of Materialistic Preferences.

In order to investigate whether cultural differences appear in children's desire for material objects, three wishes expressed by each of 44 Mexican-American and 46 non-Hispanic kindergarten children were solicited and used as indices of children's materialistic preferences. "Materialistic wishes" were defined as those that expressed personal desire to possess tangible objects, activities, and inclusive materials (such as money). It was found that out of the six subcategories of materialistic wishes (toys, pets, equipment, vehicles, houses, and inclusive materials), toys and pets were the most frequently mentioned by children, regardless of race and sex. In terms of racial differences, Mexican-American children appeared to wish for toys more often than for pets, whereas non-Hispanic children tended to prefer pets and other material objects to toys. It is therefore suggested that social and cultural background is related to the wish-making behavior of young children. (Author/MP)