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Factors of children's allocation behavior: peer relationship and resource quantity as the main determinants

RunYan Chen1, Hao Zhu1

  • 1School of Education Science, Hubei Normal University, Huangshi, Hubei, China.

Frontiers in Psychology
|June 21, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Resource availability impacts children's sharing. More resources led sixth-graders to be more selfish, but they still prioritized friends over disliked peers. Inequality aversion influences equitable allocation.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Behavioral Economics

Background:

  • Understanding resource allocation in children is crucial for developmental and social psychology.
  • Peer relationships significantly influence decision-making processes in young individuals.
  • Limited research exists on how resource quantity affects children's allocation behaviors towards different peer groups.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how resource quantity influences resource allocation among Chinese sixth-graders.
  • To examine the role of peer relationships (friends, disliked individuals, strangers) in resource allocation under varying resource conditions.
  • To explore the interplay between resource availability and children's allocation strategies (selfish, equal, altruistic).

Main Methods:

  • A between-group experimental design with 132 sixth-graders (mean age = 11.35 years).
  • Manipulation of resource quantity (limited vs. abundant) to observe allocation behaviors.
  • Multivariate unordered regression analysis to analyze allocation patterns towards different peer types.

Main Results:

  • Increased resource availability significantly promoted selfish allocation behaviors in children.
  • Higher resource abundance led to a decrease in the proportion of children opting for equal allocation.
  • Despite resource effects, children consistently allocated more resources to friends than disliked peers, showing generalized peer preferences.

Conclusions:

  • Resource quantity acts as a significant moderator in children's resource allocation, potentially increasing self-interest.
  • Children exhibit distinct preferences based on peer relationships, favoring friends even when resources are abundant.
  • Factors like inequality aversion and theory of mind may contribute to equitable allocation patterns observed in sixth-graders.

Keywords:
equalitymoral cognitionpeer relationshipresource allocationresource quantity

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