Resource Allocation Development in 4-6-Year-Old Children; Advantageous Inequality and Disadvantageous Inequality Conditions

Abstract

Aim and Background: How to allocate resources during development and its underlying motives provide developmental psychologists with understanding about fairness development. By age 4, children's social understanding of self and others is increased. This allows children to decide how to allocating resources towards others. As child develops considering fairness or self-interest concerns matters during allocating resources. This study aimed to examine resource allocation development in 4-6-year-old children in advantageous inequality and disadvantageous inequality conditions. Methods and Materials: This was a correlational study with the population of all 4-6-year-olds from kindergartens in 4 region of Tehran in years 1395-1396. One hundred and two participants aged 4 (n=34, 17 girls), 5 (n=36, 18 girls) and 6 (n=32, 16 girls) were selected through a clustered sampling. Participants were asked to distribute resources in with cost-advantageous/disadvantageous and without cost-advantageous conditions. Findings: Results showed that children more allocated resources in with cost disadvantageous condition as compared to other conditions (p<0.05). Across age groups, 4-year-old children significantly shared more resources in disadvantageous condition (p<0.05). 6-year-old girls allocated more resources when compared to boys. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that self-interest seems to be the main motives in allocating resource of 4-6-year-old children in advantageous and disadvantageous conditions. In addition, during 4-6-years of old children do not use fairness consideration in their decisions about resources.

Keywords

• advantageous inequality
• development
• disadvantageous inequality
• resource allocation
• preschoolers.