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Five-year-olds understand fair as equal in a mini-ultimatum game
Martina Wittig1, Keith Jensen, Michael Tomasello
1Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|August 7, 2013
Summary
Five-year-olds understand fairness as equal distribution in resource allocation tasks. However, they struggle with nuanced fairness concepts, like considering proposer alternatives, unlike adults.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Social Cognition
Background:
- Children's understanding of fairness typically equates to equal resource distribution.
- The mini-ultimatum game presents scenarios where fairness deviates from strict equality, incorporating proposer alternatives.
- This game assesses sensitivity to unfair intentions and outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate fairness sensitivity in 5-year-old children using the mini-ultimatum game.
- To understand the development of fairness concepts before formal schooling.
- To examine children's ability to consider proposer choices in fairness evaluations.
Main Methods:
- Administered a mini-ultimatum game to 5-year-old children.
- Analyzed responder behavior regarding offer acceptance and rejection.
- Evaluated proposer behavior and their understanding of responder expectations.
Main Results:
- Children's rejections occurred only when an equal offer was possible.
- Unlike adults, children did not consider the proposer's available choices when evaluating fairness.
- Proposers demonstrated limited understanding that unequal offers would be rejected if an equal option existed.
Conclusions:
- Preschool children primarily interpret fairness as equal splits (50/50) in this context.
- Children at this age lack sophisticated fairness notions that incorporate situational context or proposer alternatives.
- Anticipating others' fairness perceptions beyond equal distribution is not yet developed in 5-year-olds.
Keywords:
FairnessInequity aversionMoral developmentNormsPunishmentSharingSocial decision makingUltimatum gameMore Related Videos
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