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Rich man, poor man: developmental differences in attributions and perceptions
1Department of Psychology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA. carol@email.gwu.edu
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|August 4, 2012
Summary
Children
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Developmental Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Understanding of wealth and poverty develops with age.
- Attribution theory explains how individuals interpret causes of events.
Purpose of the Study:
- Examine how age influences explanations of wealth/poverty.
- Investigate perceptions of rich and poor individuals across age groups.
- Explore the relationship between causal attributions and trait judgments.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 88 children aged 6, 10, and 14.
- Participants provided causal attributions and trait judgments for a rich and a poor man.
- Utilized cognitive developmental and attribution theories.
Main Results:
- Younger children (6-year-olds) attributed wealth to external factors like job and education, and perceived the rich man as more competent.
- Older children (10- and 14-year-olds) attributed wealth and poverty more to internal factors like ability and effort.
- Trait perceptions shifted with age, from outcome-based to quality-based attributions.
Conclusions:
- Children's understanding of wealth and poverty evolves significantly with age.
- Perceptions of rich and poor individuals are shaped by developing attributional reasoning.
- A developmental shift occurs from viewing wealth as a result of good fortune to a product of personal qualities.
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