Developmental Differences in Infants’ Fairness Expectations From 6 to 15 Months of Age

Talee Ziv, Jessica A. Sommerville

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

99 Scopus citations

Abstract

The present research investigated the developmental trajectory of infants’ fairness expectations from 6 to 15 months of age (N = 150). Findings revealed a developmental transition in infants’ fairness expectations between 6 and 12 months, as indicated by enhanced visual attention to unfair outcomes of resource distribution events (a 3:1 distribution) relative to fair outcomes (a 2:2 distribution). The onset of naturalistic sharing behavior predicted infants’ fairness expectations at transitional ages. Beyond this period of developmental transition, the presence of siblings and infants’ prompted giving behavior predicted individual differences in infants’ fairness concerns. These results provide evidence for the role of experience in the acquisition of fairness expectations and reveal early individual differences in such expectations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1930-1951
Number of pages22
JournalChild Development
Volume88
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Nov 2017
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
  • Education
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology

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