Young children’s trust and sharing decisions

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this study is to investigate how young children define trust and to find out if there is a relationship between the people whom they trust and the people with whom they share their favorite food and toy. The participants consist of 273 kindergarteners enrolled in five public kindergartens. Research assistants asked the participants questions such as what they think trust is, who they trust, with whom they want to share their favorite food and favorite toy, and why. Findings did not reveal age or gender as factors for children’s trust and sharing decisions. Children’s trust decisions were not associated with their sharing decisions. Accordingly, it appears that children perceive trust and sharing as two separate concepts. This might be due to the abstract nature of trust and the social nature of sharing, in which immediate reciprocity might play a more important role in children’s sharing decisions. Children mentioned reciprocity as the second highest reason for their sharing decisions.

Keywords

• Trust
• Sharing
• Young children
• Gender
• Prosocial behavior