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Getting What You Pay For: Children's Use of Market Norms to Regulate Exchanges
Margaret Echelbarger1, Susan A Gelman1, Charles W Kalish2
1University of Michigan.
Child Development
|May 12, 2018
Summary
Children learn to use market norms for resource distribution as they age. Even when reasons for different offers vary, older children and adults favor those offering more, demonstrating a developing sense of market-based reciprocity.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Children's understanding of resource distribution involves concepts like equality, equity, and reciprocity.
- Market norms, a specific type of reciprocity, dictate differential distribution based on return amount.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether children aged 5-10 years utilize market norms in resource distribution.
- To examine developmental changes in the application of market norms.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted involving 195 children (5-10 years) and 60 adults.
- Participants distributed stickers to friends who offered the same or different amounts of money.
- Reasons for differing monetary offers were also considered.
Main Results:
- Participants distributed resources more equally when offers were identical and unequally when offers differed.
- Older children and adults increasingly applied market norms, distributing more to those offering higher amounts.
- Sensitivity to the reasons behind differing offers decreased with age in favor of market norm application.
Conclusions:
- Children's adoption of market norms in resource distribution is age-dependent.
- Developmentally, individuals transition towards prioritizing market-based reciprocity over other considerations.
- This suggests a maturation in understanding and applying economic principles in social contexts.