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Published on: March 1, 2019
Extrinsic incentives can shape inequity aversion in primary school children
Wen Lei1, Xiaojie Zhong1, Heming Gao1
1School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|July 24, 2026
Summary
Extrinsic incentives boost fairness in children, especially younger ones. Older children show stronger, internalized inequity aversion, demonstrating nuanced fairness judgments with or without rewards.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Moral Development
Background:
- Inequity aversion, a key aspect of fairness, develops throughout childhood.
- Understanding the role of external motivators in shaping prosocial behaviors is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how extrinsic incentives affect inequity aversion in primary school children.
- To compare the impact of incentives on fairness judgments between third and fifth graders.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the inequity game and third-party punishment paradigms with 8- and 10-year-old children.
- Assessed decisions on equitable, disadvantageous, and advantageous inequity allocations.
- Introduced extrinsic rewards for rejecting unfairness to test incentive effects.
Main Results:
- Extrinsic incentives significantly increased the rejection of unfair offers in both age groups.
- Fifth graders displayed higher baseline inequity aversion, less reliant on incentives.
- Third graders' fairness responses were more context-dependent, strongly influenced by rewards, especially in third-party scenarios.
- Incentives led fifth graders to punish disadvantageous inequity less severely than advantageous inequity in third-party contexts.
Conclusions:
- Extrinsic incentives can effectively shape fairness norms and inequity aversion in children.
- Children's fairness judgments evolve, with older children showing more internalized aversion and nuanced responses to unfairness.
- The impact of extrinsic motivators varies with age and context, highlighting developmental differences in moral decision-making.
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