Considering self or others across two cultural contexts: How children’s resource allocation is affected by self-construal manipulations

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

Abstract

Most humans share to some degree. Yet, from middle childhood, sharing behavior varies substantially across societies. Here, for the first time, we explored the effect of self-construal manipulation on sharing decisions in 7- and 8-year-old children from two distinct societies: urban India and urban United Kingdom. Children participated in one of three conditions that focused attention on independence, interdependence, or a control. Sharing was then assessed across three resource allocation games. A focus on independence resulted in reduced generosity in both societies. However, an intriguing societal difference emerged following a focus on interdependence, where only Indian children from traditional extended families displayed greater generosity in one of the resource allocation games. Thus, a focus on independence can move children from diverse societies toward selfishness with relative ease, but a focus on interdependence is very limited in its effectiveness to promote generosity.

Citation

Weltzien, S., Marsh, L., Kanngiesser, P., Stuijfzand, B., & Hood, B. (2019). Considering self or others across two cultural contexts: How children’s resource allocation is affected by self-construal manipulations. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 184, 139-157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2019.04.002

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 3, 2019
• Online Publication Date: May 3, 2019
• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Aug 12, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 12, 2019
• Journal: Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
• Print ISSN: 0022-0965
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 184
• Pages: 139-157
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2019.04.002
• Keywords: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology; Developmental and Educational Psychology
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2417733
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002209651830506X?via%3Dihub#!
• Contract Date: Aug 12, 2019