ERIC Number: EJ1026030
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Nov
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1363-755X
EISSN: N/A
Young Children Care More about Their Reputation with Ingroup Members and Potential Reciprocators
Engelmann, Jan M.; Over, Harriet; Herrmann, Esther; Tomasello, Michael
Developmental Science, v16 n6 p952-958 Nov 2013
Human cooperation depends on individuals caring about their reputation, and so they sometimes attempt to manage them strategically. Here we show that even 5-year-old children strategically manage their reputation. In an experimental setting, children shared significantly more resources with an anonymous recipient when (1) the child watching them could reciprocate later, and (2) the child watching them was an ingroup rather than an outgroup member (as established by minimal group markers). This study is not only the first to show that young children selectively invest in their reputation with specific individuals, but also the first to show that we care more about our reputation with ingroup than with outgroup members.
Descriptors: Reputation, Peer Acceptance, Peer Relationship, Cooperation, Caring, Experimental Groups, Young Children, Social Status
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A