Young dictators—Speaking about oneself decreases generosity in children from two cultural contexts

Weltzien, Sandra; Marsh, Lauren; Kanngiesser, Patricia; Hood, Bruce

Abstract

Sharing of resources is a common feature of human societies. Yet, there is substantial societal variation in children’s generosity, and this variation emerges during middle childhood. Societal differences in self-construal orientation may be one factor influencing the ontogeny of generosity. Here, we examine anonymous Dictator Game sharing in 7-and-8-year-olds from two distinct societies: India and the UK (N = 180). We used self-construal manipulations to investigate whether priming self- or other-focused conversations would differentially influence children’s generosity. There were no differences in generosity between populations. While a significant reduction in generosity was found following self-priming in both societies, other-priming was ineffectual. The findings are discussed in relation to experimental features and the role of anonymity and reputational concerns.

Citation

Weltzien, S., Marsh, L., Kanngiesser, P., & Hood, B. (2024). Young dictators—Speaking about oneself decreases generosity in children from two cultural contexts. PLoS ONE, 19(3), Article e0300200. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0300200

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 28, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Mar 7, 2024
• Publication Date: Mar 7, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jul 22, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 24, 2024
• Journal: PLoS ONE
• Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 3
• Article Number: e0300200
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0300200
• Keywords: Children; Dictator game; Prosocial behavior; Human families; India; Cross-cultural studies; Emotions; Schools
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/37414916
• Publisher URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0300200