Preference for the equity or equality norm by preschool children in reward distribution

Abstract

The present study attempts to find the determinants of preferences for justice norms. It is proposed that a) The preference for equity or equality norm var1es with the sex of the child, such that girls prefer to use the norm of equality more often than boys do; b) Children are affected by the type of the relationship (unit-nonequivalence) between individuals in their choice of justice norms. More specifically, children who perceive the relationship as unit use the norm of equality more often than those who perceive it as nonequivalent; and lastly c) When children are told "not to be. unjust" they use the norm of equity more often than those who are not told so. ihe hypotheses were tested on 80 nursery school children (40 girls - 40 boys) aged 5, usings full factorial design. The result showed that sex of the subjects, the perceived relationship between the individuals and being told not to be unjust are important factors in the preference for justice norms.