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Updated: Mar 18, 2026

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Young children's preference for unique owned objects.

Susan A Gelman1, Natalie S Davidson1

  • 1University of Michigan, United States.

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|July 11, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Three-year-olds value their own used toys over new ones, showing an early understanding of unique item value. They recognize this preference is personal and not necessarily shared by others.

Keywords:
Attachment objectsChildrenIndividualsOwnership

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Development
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Object Value

Background:

  • Humans, including adults and young children, often assign greater value to unique or authentic items compared to identical replicas or duplicates.
  • This preference for uniqueness is observed in adults valuing original art over copies and in children valuing their own original possessions.
  • The developmental trajectory and subjective understanding of this value in early childhood remain areas for investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the scope of preference for unique items in early childhood.
  • To determine at what age children understand the subjective nature of valuing unique objects.
  • To examine whether three-year-olds differentiate value based on ownership and novelty.

Main Methods:

  • A study involved 36 three-year-old children making choices between an old (used) toy and a new (identical appearance) toy.
  • Choices were presented in two conditions: Focal pairs (child's own old toy vs. new toy) and Control pairs (unfamiliar old vs. new toys).
  • Children made choices for themselves and for a researcher to assess subjective understanding of value.

Main Results:

  • Children showed a preference for their own old toys over new ones exclusively in the Focal pairs condition.
  • In Control pairs, children did not show a significant preference between old and new unfamiliar toys.
  • Children indicated that their preferences for their own old toys were not shared by the researcher, demonstrating an understanding of subjectivity.

Conclusions:

  • By three years of age, children place a special value on their own unique possessions.
  • Young children demonstrate an understanding that the value placed on unique items is subjective and personal.
  • This developmental milestone suggests an early grasp of individual differences in object preference and ownership value.