title: Children base their investment on calculated pay-off.
abstract: To investigate the rise of economic abilities during development we studied children aged between 3 and 10 in an exchange situation requiring them to calculate their investment based on different offers. One experimenter gave back a reward twice the amount given by the children, and a second always gave back the same quantity regardless of the amount received. To maximize pay-offs children had to invest a maximal amount with the first, and a minimal amount with the second. About one third of the 5-year-olds and most 7- and 10-year-olds were able to adjust their investment according to the partner, while all 3-year-olds failed. Such performances should be related to the rise of cognitive and social skills after 4 years.
authors.affiliation: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie, Strasbourg, France. sophie.steelandt@iphc.cnrs.fr
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Steelandt
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dufour
authors.forename: Marie-Hélène
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Broihanne
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Thierry
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007449:Investments; D008297:Male; D012201:Reward