Children do not exhibit ambiguity aversion despite intact familiarity bias

Area of Science:

• Cognitive psychology
• Developmental psychology
• Decision-making

Background:

• Ambiguity aversion, the preference for known probabilities over unknown ones, is well-documented in adults.
• This phenomenon has not been previously studied in children.
• Understanding ambiguity preferences in children is crucial for developmental insights.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate ambiguity preferences in children (8-9 years old) and adults (19-27 years old).
• To compare the levels of ambiguity aversion between these age groups.
• To explore the role of familiarity bias in children's and adults' decision-making under uncertainty.

Main Methods:

• Two distinct tasks were employed to assess ambiguity preferences.
• Participants included children aged 8-9 years and adults aged 19-27 years.
• Familiarity bias was measured separately to disentangle its effect from ambiguity aversion.

Main Results:

• Adults exhibited significant ambiguity aversion, whereas children did not.
• Adults showed greater ambiguity aversion compared to children across three measures.
• Both children and adults demonstrated a familiarity bias, preferring familiar options.

Conclusions:

• Ambiguity aversion develops between childhood and adolescence.
• Familiarity bias is present in childhood, suggesting it is not the sole driver of ambiguity aversion.
• These findings highlight a key developmental shift in decision-making under uncertainty.