Young children, but not chimpanzees, are averse to disadvantageous and advantageous inequities.
Abstract
The age at which young children show an aversion to inequitable resource distributions,
especially those favoring themselves, is unclear. It is also unclear whether great
apes, as humans' nearest evolutionary relatives, have an aversion to inequitable resource
distributions at all. Using a common methodology across species and child ages, the
current two studies found that 3- and 4-year-old children (N=64) not only objected
when they received less than a collaborative partner but also sacrificed to equalize
when they received more. They did neither of these things in a nonsocial situation,
demonstrating the fundamental role of social comparison. In contrast, chimpanzees
(N=9) showed no aversion to inequitable distributions, only a concern for maximizing
their own resources, with no differences between social and nonsocial conditions.
These results underscore the unique importance for humans, even early in ontogeny,
for treating others fairly, presumably as a way of becoming a cooperative member of
one's cultural group.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/13635Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1016/j.jecp.2016.10.013Publication Info
Ulber, Julia; Hamann, Katharina; & Tomasello, Michael (2017). Young children, but not chimpanzees, are averse to disadvantageous and advantageous
inequities. J Exp Child Psychol, 155. pp. 48-66. 10.1016/j.jecp.2016.10.013. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/13635.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Michael Tomasello
James F. Bonk Distinguished Professor
Major research interests in processes of social cognition, social learning, cooperation,
and communication from developmental, comparative, and cultural perspectives. Current
theoretical focus on processes of shared intentionality. Empirical research mainly
with human children from 1 to 4 years of age and great apes.

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