title: Being Sticker Rich: Numerical Context Influences Children's Sharing Behavior.
abstract: Young children spontaneously share resources with anonymous recipients, but little is known about the specific circumstances that promote or hinder these prosocial tendencies. Children (ages 3-11) received a small (12) or large (30) number of stickers, and were then given the opportunity to share their windfall with either one or multiple anonymous recipients (Dictator Game). Whether a child chose to share or not varied as a function of age, but was uninfluenced by numerical context. Moreover, children's giving was consistent with a proportion-based account, such that children typically donated a similar proportion (but different absolute number) of the resources given to them, regardless of whether they originally received a small or large windfall. The proportion of resources donated, however, did vary based on the number of recipients with whom they were allowed to share, such that on average, children shared more when there were more recipients available, particularly when they had more resources, suggesting they take others into consideration when making prosocial decisions. Finally, results indicated that a child's gender also predicted sharing behavior, with males generally sharing more resources than females. Together, findings suggest that the numerical contexts under which children are asked to share, as well as the quantity of resources that they have to share, may interact to promote (or hinder) altruistic behaviors throughout childhood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.
authors.forename: Tasha
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Posid
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Allyse
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fazio
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cordes
mesh_terms: D000533:Altruism; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors