The development of intergroup resource allocation: The role of cooperative and competitive in-group norms
Luke McGuire1, Michael T Rizzo2, Melanie Killen2
1Department of Psychology.
Insights
Children prioritize welfare over fairness when their ingroup norm is competitive, unlike adolescents and adults who prioritize fairness. This shows a developmental shift in intergroup resource allocation based on ingroup norms.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Moral Psychology
Background:
- Intergroup resource allocation is influenced by social norms and goals.
- Developmental changes in moral reasoning impact decision-making.
- Ingroup norms can shape resource distribution strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age-related differences in intergroup resource allocation.
- To examine the influence of ingroup norms (competitive vs. cooperative) on resource allocation.
- To understand how goal context (prosocial vs. group-focused) interacts with ingroup norms and age.
Main Methods:
- Participants (children, adolescents, adults) were assigned to simulated groups with competitive or cooperative ingroup norms.
- A resource allocation task was presented with either prosocial or group-focused goals.
- Participants allocated resources between ingroup and outgroup and provided justifications.
Main Results:
- Children allocated more resources to their ingroup for prosocial goals, but only under a competitive ingroup norm.
- Adolescents and adults allocated resources equally, regardless of ingroup norm.
- Children prioritized welfare over fairness in a competitive context; older participants prioritized fairness.
Conclusions:
- A developmental shift occurs in prioritizing moral goals during intergroup resource allocation.
- Ingroup norms significantly influence children's resource allocation, particularly in competitive contexts.
- Adolescents and adults consistently prioritize fairness in intergroup resource allocation, irrespective of ingroup norms.
Abstract:
The present study investigated age-related changes in the intergroup allocation of resources depending on whether the ingroup norm was competitive or cooperative. Participants included children (Mage = 8.69), adolescents (Mage = 13.81), and adults (Mage = 20.89), (N = 263) who were inducted into simulated groups and informed about an ingroup norm of either cooperation or competition. The goal context for the resource allocation task was either prosocial (to benefit the welfare of animals in a charity event) or group focused (to win a national interschool competition). They were then asked to allocate resources between an ingroup and outgroup, and to justify their allocation. The findings showed that children allocated significantly more resources to their ingroup in order to achieve a prosocial goal, but only when the ingroup norm was competitive. In contrast, adolescents and adults allocated resources equally irrespective of the ingroup norm. These findings showed that children prioritized the moral goal of welfare over that of fairness when their ingroup favored competition, while adolescents and adults always prioritized fairness. Older participants justified their equal allocation with greater reference to the importance of fair competition. This study demonstrated an important developmental shift in how the prioritization of moral goals during intergroup resource allocation is influenced by ingroup norms of competition and cooperation. (PsycINFO Database Record
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