How children evaluate 'Good Trouble' Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

From 4 years of age, children manifest disadvantageous inequity aversion (receiving less than other) and develop to become averse to advantageous inequity (receiving more than other) by internalizing norms of fairness. However, it is unknown how children evaluate protesting norms that are inherently unequal. Do they still uphold the authority of a norm or disagree with them in favor of equal outcomes? Here, we approach this question by examining how children start appreciating challenges against the status quo in development. Participants, ages 4-9 years (n=60), were presented with a series of vignettes, each of which depicted an argument between a rule-challenger and a rule-follower in unequal and equal rule situations. Participants were asked to befriend and reward/punish one of the two protagonists. 

Results show that older children were more likely to select the rule-challenger as their friend in an unequal rule situation. Further, older, and younger children also differed in how they rewarded/punished the protagonists. These results suggest that younger children may be, mainly motivated to follow rules even if they are unequal and older children uphold principles of fairness even if that comes with challenging existing rules. We discuss potential factors that contribute to these differences. 

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Hypothesis 5

Methods 6

Participants 6

Design & Procedure 6

Materials 7

Results 10

Coding & Analysis 10

Rule-challenger or Rule-follower- who do children befriend? 11

How do children reward or punish the protagonists? 13

Do children care about the kind of rule? 13

Additional analyses: What do children think about the rule? 14

Discussion 14

Role of Disadvantageous (DI) and Advantageous inequity aversion (AI) 15

Social norms & rules 16

Authority, Conformity & Reputation 17

Cognitive Capacities 19

Future Directions 19

Acknowledgments 20

References 21

Appendix 25

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Psychology
Degree	M.A.
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, Developmental
Keyword	Norms Protest Inequity aversion Rules
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Philippe Rochat, Emory University
Committee Members	Robert Hampton, Emory University Arber Tasimi, Emory University

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