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Fairness Preference of Preschoolers and the Effects of Family Background in China - Zhongjing Huang (黄忠敬), Lan Shi (石岚), Jie Wu (吴洁), 2023 (sagepub.com)
Article Information
Article first published online: January 18, 2023
Issue published: August 2023
Author
Zhongjing Huang (黄忠敬)
East China Normal University
Lan Shi (石岚)
Tsinghua University
Jie Wu (吴洁)
Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology
Abstract
Purpose: This study investigates the fairness preference of five-year-old children in Shanghai, observing their distributive behaviors in both stakeholder and spectator games and showing how this behavior is linked to their family background.
Design/Approach/Methods: Participants had to make distributive choices in two experiments and distribute between themselves and another participant in the first choice. They had to distribute between two other participants in luck, merit, or efficiency situations in the second choice.
Findings: The results suggest that preschoolers showed a preference for splitting equally between themselves and another participant. The second choice showed a significant difference in fairness preference under a situation of luck between genders, and only children were more likely to accept an unequal allocation than those who had siblings.
Originality/Value: We believe that our study makes a significant contribution to the literature because it illustrates the variety of factors that can influence a child's fairness preference and fairness behavior and suggests when and how these aspects develop in children. Further, this is an original study exploring the fairness preference of preschoolers in Shanghai using an experimental economics method.
Keywords
China, family background, fairness preference, preschoolers