AsianScientist (Mar. 13, 2018) – Scientists in Japan have found that people prefer to share resources so that everyone ends up with the same amount of resources. They published their findings in the European Journal of Developmental Psychology.
How do we distribute our limited resources? This question is at the core of human society and ethics. In real life, new goods are often distributed when some of us already have goods—we don’t all start from an equal footing.
Developmental psychology research has shown that around the age of five or six, children come to prefer equal distribution over unfair distribution, even if this means they receive less. However, all participants in previous studies started with no resources, so it was unclear whether children preferred the even distribution of resources, or an equal outcome.
In this study led by Associate Professor Hajimu Hayashi of the Kobe University Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, some study participants started with more resources than others, with the aim of discovering whether people prefer sharing resources so that they both end up with the same amount (equal-outcome distribution), or in a way where both parties get the same amount, regardless of how much they started with (equal-allocation distribution).
34 adults and 24 children between the ages of five to six participated in the study. The researchers used marbles to represent resources, and these marbles were distributed between a test subject and puppets, changing the distribution methods and conditions during the experiment.
For example, in phase one, the test subject received two red marbles while the puppet did not. In phase two, new resources in the form of eight blue marbles were distributed. Applying the equal-outcome principle, the puppet received five of eight blue marbles, while the test subject received three blue marbles so that each party now had five marbles. Alternatively, applying the equal-allocation principle, the test subject and puppet both received four blue marbles each so that the test subject had six marbles while the puppet only had four. The test subjects were then asked which method of distribution they preferred.
Both adults and children tended to prefer distribution by equal outcome under all conditions, showing that most people like resources to be shared in a manner where everyone ends up with the same amount. This also demonstrates that previous studies of preference for equal distribution actually show a preference for equal outcome.
“These findings suggest that when someone distributes a new resource equally in an unequal situation, the distributor must prepare a good explanation for their choices. This could have implications not only for individuals, but for organizations, societies and nations as well,” said Hayashi.
The article can be found at: Hayashi (2018) Preference for Distribution by Equal Outcome in 5- and 6-year-old Children.
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Source: Kobe University; Photo: Shutterstock.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.
