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Preschoolers' resource allocations align with their normative judgments
Markus Paulus1, Antonia Nöth1, Monika Wörle1
1Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80802 Munich, Germany.
Insights
Preschoolers
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Moral Development
- Social Cognition
Background:
- Preschool children demonstrate an understanding of fairness and enforce norms.
- Previous research indicates children possess normative views on resource distribution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the alignment between preschool children's (3-6 years) resource allocation behavior and their normative stances on fairness.
- To determine if children's evaluations of third-party resource distribution predict their own behavior.
Main Methods:
- Children observed protagonists distributing resources either equally or favoring a poor recipient.
- Children's own resource allocation behavior towards rich and poor recipients was assessed.
- Children's normative judgments (protesting equal distribution, affirming aid to the poor) were recorded.
Main Results:
- A positive correlation was found between children's moral evaluations and their resource allocation behavior.
- Children who protested equal distribution and affirmed aid to the poor allocated more resources to a poor recipient.
- Stronger normative stances predicted more prosocial resource distribution.
Conclusions:
- Preschool children's moral evaluations are linked to their resource allocation behavior.
- This study highlights the connection between moral judgment and prosocial actions in early childhood.
- Findings suggest that normative beliefs influence behavioral choices in resource distribution among young children.
Abstract:
Recent research showed that preschool children hold normative views on how to distribute resources fairly and enforce these fairness norms even from third parties. The current study examined whether 3- to 6-year-old preschool children's resource allocation behavior aligns with their normative stances. To this end, children were presented with protagonists who either distributed resources equally between a poor recipient and a rich recipient or gave more to the poor recipient. In addition, children's own resource distribution behavior toward a rich and poor other was assessed. Results showed that the more children protested against the protagonist distributing resources equally, and the more they affirmed the protagonist giving more to the poor, the more resources they themselves allocated to a poor other. These findings point to a relation between moral evaluation and behavior during the preschool years.