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Recipient identifiability increases prosocial behavior in young children.

Stefen Beeler-Duden1, Kayla Pelletz1, Amrisha Vaish1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA.

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|July 12, 2022
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Summary

Identifying a person increases prosocial behavior, even in young children. This study shows children aged 3.5 to 6.5 years share more with an identified peer, demonstrating early development of the identifiable victim effect.

Keywords:
CooperationDevelopmentGenerosityIdentifiable victim effectProsocial behaviorSharing

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Behavioral Economics

Background:

  • Adult research shows that identifying a person increases prosocial behavior.
  • The developmental origins of the "identifiable victim effect" are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of recipient identifiability on prosocial behavior in young children.
  • To determine if children exhibit the identifiable victim effect.

Main Methods:

  • Children aged 3.5 to 6.5 years participated in a sticker distribution task.
  • Recipients were either identified by name or remained unidentified.
  • Children decided how to distribute five stickers between themselves and the recipient.

Main Results:

  • Children shared more stickers with the identified recipient compared to the unidentified recipient.
  • This effect was consistent across the studied age range.
  • Identifiability significantly promoted prosocial behavior.

Conclusions:

  • Recipient identifiability enhances prosocial behavior from a very early age in development.
  • The findings suggest the identifiable victim effect emerges early in childhood.
  • Early prosocial responses to identifiable individuals have implications for understanding social behavior development.