Year: 2021
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Do children, like adults, consider the original cause of the inequality as well as when the inequality happened? In two experiments, we investigate how children reason about whether and when past inequalities due to differences in hard work, bias and luck should be corrected. Younger (5-6 years) children distribute coins equally regardless of the cause of the inequality or when it happened (i.e. past or present). Older (7-8 years) children distribute more coins to the child who worked harder (thus increasing inequality), and to the child who was biased against or unlucky (thus decreasing inequality) when the inequalities happened in the present. However, they were more likely to distribute coins equally when the inequality happened in the past. These findings suggest younger children have strong preferences for equal distributions despite existing inequalities and older children are less likely to rectify inequalities created in the past than those created recently.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Inderpreet Kaur Gill
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3150047952