Giving what one should: explanations for the knowledge-behavior gap for altruistic giving

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Behavioral Economics
• Moral Development

Background:

• Children often exhibit a knowledge-behavior gap, particularly in sharing resources.
• Dictator Game studies reveal young children frequently keep resources instead of sharing half as they believe they should.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review evidence for explanations of the knowledge-behavior gap in children.
• To identify mechanisms that help children close this gap with age.

Main Methods:

• Review of over a dozen recent Dictator Game studies.
• Analysis of evidence for five potential explanations: self-regulation, social distance, theory of mind, moral knowledge, and social learning.

Main Results:

• Children's belief about sharing often does not align with their actual behavior.
• Five factors are explored as potential explanations for this discrepancy.

Conclusions:

• Self-regulation, social distance, and social learning provide the most promising explanations for how children bridge the knowledge-behavior gap.
• Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for addressing disparities in prosocial behavior development.