Journal
COGNITION
Volume 130, Issue 2, Pages 152-156Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2013.10.008
Keywords
Morality; Social cognition; Childhood development; Cognitive development
Categories
Funding
- NIMH NIH HHS [MH 081877, R01 MH081877] Funding Source: Medline
- Division Of Behavioral and Cognitive Sci
- Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie [0921515] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Young children dislike getting less than others, which might suggest a general preference for equal outcomes. However, young children are typically not averse to others receiving less than themselves. These results are consistent with two alternatives: young children might not have any preferences about others receiving less than themselves, or they might have preferences for others receiving less than themselves. We test these alternatives with 5- to 10-year-old children. We replicate previous findings that children will take a cost to avoid being at a relative disadvantage, but also find that 5- and 6-year-olds will spitefully take a cost to ensure that another's welfare falls below their own. This result suggests that the development of fairness includes overcoming an initial social comparison preference for others to get less relative to oneself. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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