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Priming Behavioral Control Enhances Sharing in Preschoolers.
1Assesta Co., Ltd., Seoul, South Korea.
Frontiers in Psychology
|July 26, 2022
Summary
Young children
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Young children understand fairness but struggle to share consistently.
- This inconsistency may stem from underdeveloped behavioral control.
- Behavioral control is crucial for aligning actions with social norms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate the impact of behavioral control on preschoolers' sharing behavior.
- To determine if priming behavioral control influences generosity in young children.
- To explore the relationship between behavioral control, fairness judgments, and emotional responses.
Main Methods:
- Sixty-four 3- to 4-year-olds participated in the study.
- Children were randomly assigned to a behavioral control prime or a neutral prime condition.
- Sharing behavior was assessed using the dictator game, where children shared stickers with an anonymous peer.
Main Results:
- Children in the behavioral control prime condition shared significantly more stickers than those in the neutral prime condition.
- No significant differences were found in fairness judgments between the two groups.
- Emotional experiences did not differ significantly between the experimental conditions.
Conclusions:
- Behavioral control can be experimentally enhanced in preschoolers.
- Facilitating behavioral control positively impacts children's sharing behavior.
- Preschoolers' sharing is malleable and influenced by cognitive control mechanisms, not solely by fairness understanding.
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