title: Altruistic sharing behavior in children: Role of theory of mind and inhibitory control.
abstract: This study aimed to assess altruistic sharing behavior in children aged 3 to 5, 6 to 8, and 9 to 11 years and to explore the involvement of potential cognitive mechanisms, namely theory of mind (ToM) and inhibitory control. A total of 158 children completed a dictator game with stickers as incentives. ToM was evaluated using a false belief task in preschoolers and the Strange Story Test in school-age children. Inhibitory control was assessed in preschoolers with the Day-Night task and in older children with the Stroop Color-Word Test. The result was that 48.10% of children aged 3 to 5 years decided to share, and the percentage rose significantly with increasing age. The difference in altruism level in children who decided to share among the three age groups was nonsignificant. These results suggest that mechanisms underlying the decision to share or not and altruistic behavior may be different. No significant linear relations were found between cognitive processes (i.e., ToM and inhibitory control) and sharing behavior. Surprisingly, 9- to 11-year-olds who shared 3 of 10 stickers performed worse in inhibitory control than did those who shared any other number of stickers. In conclusion, the proportion of children who decided to share, but not the level of altruism, increased with age. ToM was not involved in altruistic sharing, whereas inhibitory control may play a role when deciding how much to share.
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Buyun
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Zhelan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA.
authors.forename: Guifeng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Yajun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Xiuhong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Qingxiong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
authors.forename: Shanshan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China. Electronic address: jingjin@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jing
mesh_terms: D000533:Altruism; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010988:Play and Playthings / Q000523:psychology*; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Altruistic sharing; Children; Development; Dictator game; Inhibitory control; Theory of mind