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I Should but I Won’t: Why Young Children Endorse Norms of Fair Sharing but Do Not Follow Them

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  • Craig E Smith
  • Peter R Blake
  • Paul L Harris

Abstract

Young children endorse fairness norms related to sharing, but often act in contradiction to those norms when given a chance to share. This phenomenon has rarely been explored in the context of a single study. Using a novel approach, the research presented here offers clear evidence of this discrepancy and goes on to examine possible explanations for its diminution with age. In Study 1, 3–8-year-old children readily stated that they themselves should share equally, asserted that others should as well, and predicted that others had shared equally with them. Nevertheless, children failed to engage in equal sharing until ages 7–8. In Study 2, 7–8-year-olds correctly predicted that they would share equally, and 3–6-year-olds correctly predicted that they would favor themselves, ruling out a failure-of-willpower explanation for younger children's behavior. Similarly, a test of inhibitory control in Study 1 also failed to explain the shift with age toward adherence to the endorsed norm. The data suggest that, although 3-year-olds know the norm of equal sharing, the weight that children attach to this norm increases with age when sharing involves a cost to the self.

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  • Craig E Smith & Peter R Blake & Paul L Harris, 2013. "I Should but I Won’t: Why Young Children Endorse Norms of Fair Sharing but Do Not Follow Them," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(3), pages 1-11, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0059510
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059510
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Patricia Kanngiesser & Felix Warneken, 2012. "Young Children Consider Merit when Sharing Resources with Others," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(8), pages 1-5, August.
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    1. Marek Meristo & Luca Surian, 2014. "Infants Distinguish Antisocial Actions Directed towards Fair and Unfair Agents," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(10), pages 1-7, October.
    2. Elena Nava & Emanuela Croci & Chiara Turati, 2019. "‘I see you sharing, thus I share with you’: indirect reciprocity in toddlers but not infants," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-9, December.
    3. Ilaria Castelli & Davide Massaro & Cristina Bicchieri & Alex Chavez & Antonella Marchetti, 2014. "Fairness Norms and Theory of Mind in an Ultimatum Game: Judgments, Offers, and Decisions in School-Aged Children," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(8), pages 1-10, August.
    4. Blake, Peter R. & Piovesan, Marco & Montinari, Natalia & Warneken, Felix & Gino, Francesca, 2015. "Prosocial norms in the classroom: The role of self-regulation in following norms of giving," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 18-29.
    5. Jasleen Kaur & Anupam Sharma, 2021. "Conceptual ECCE Happiness Framework for Preschools: To Introduce Importance of Happiness to Promote Social and Emotional Competence in Preschool Children," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, July.
    6. Etienne Dagorn & David Masclet & Thierry Penard, 2019. "Les expériences sur les préférences individuelles et sociales des enfants et des adolescents : une revue de la litterature," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes & University of Caen) 2019-11, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes, University of Caen and CNRS.
    7. Brañas-Garza, Pablo & Caldentey, Pedro & Espín, Antonio M. & Garcia, Teresa & Hernández, Ana, 2020. "Exposure to economic inequality at the age of 8 enhances prosocial behaviour in adult life," MPRA Paper 100683, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Schmitt, Rebecca, 2015. "Bridging the Attitude-Preference-Gap: A Cognitive Approach To Preference Formation," MPRA Paper 68480, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Patricia Grocke & Federico Rossano & Michael Tomasello, 2019. "Preschoolers consider (absent) others when choosing a distribution procedure," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(8), pages 1-14, August.

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