Sensitivity to merit and equity emerges early and universally in children

Evidence

Studies have shown that children as young as 12 months of age react to an unequal distribution (Geraci & Surian 2011; Schmidt & Sommerville 2011; Sloane et al. 2012). Baumard et al. (2011) show that children as young as age 3 are able to take merit into account and to give more to a character who contributed more to the production of a common good. This developmental pattern is found cross-culturally. Children living in Asian societies, who are often thought to be more collectivistic (Markus & Kitayama 1991; Triandis 1989), also show an early development of justice (Baumard et al., submitted). In the same way, despite culturalist theories postulating that justice and merit are linked to Western development (capitalist market, state institutions, world religion; e.g., Henrich et al. 2010), children living among the Turkana in northern Kenya find it equally intuitive to give more to the character that contributed more to the common good (Liénard et al., submitted). — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 657

Categorization

• XREF: Directly contradicts the old Piaget/Damon/Kohlberg stage theory of moral development; connects to the reader’s Big God / evolved-morality framework and Baumard et al.’s partner-choice model. — connects to: Infants’ early sensitivity to social patterns is conventional perception, not moral judgment. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 544; Earned entitlements reshape perceived fairness in resource division. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 117; Fairness regulates rather than generates the moralized expression of evolved dispositions — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 692 (+2 more)
• DEFINE: Specifies what ‘early justice’ empirically looks like: 12-month-olds detecting unequal distribution, 3-year-olds weighing merit.

Related

• Human fairness means overriding merit to aid the needy. (similarity 0.80)
• People accept large inequalities they judge as earned or deserved. (similarity 0.78)
• Morality is an evolved sense of fairness, not a late intellectual achievement (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Earned entitlements reshape perceived fairness in resource division. #corroborates (0.78) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 117
• Fairness regulates rather than generates the moralized expression of evolved dispositions #qualifies (0.75) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 692
• Fairness evolved as a psychological device because outside market options constrain benefit distribution. #expands (0.72) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 201