Work

Children selectively amend structural inequalities.

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: : best jobs and money to start a business. On each trial, children saw an unequal allocation of resources (e.g., homes) in an 8:2 ratio favoring the advantaged group. Children had free rein in redistributing resources. Children generally amended the structural inequality, with older children adopting an equal distribution and younger children moving an average of one item from the advantaged to disadvantaged group. Importantly, children's resource redistributions were selective: Reallocations of Luxury Goods were more likely to continue to favor the advantaged group, while children preferred equality in their reallocations of Basic Goods. For Public Goods and Opportunity Goods, children were as likely to favor the advantaged group as they were to favor equality. Finally, parents' political beliefs predicted younger (but not older) children's reallocation strategies. These findings highlight an emerging capacity to reason about and selectively amend structural inequalities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Source: Developmental Psychology

DOI: 10.1037/dev0001940

Authors: Radhika Santhanagopalan, Lin Bian

Institution: University of Chicago

Language: English

Topic: Child and Animal Learning Development

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, No poverty

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: National Science Foundation