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Wang S, Yang Z, Hu K, Guo C, Xiao J, Meng G, Liu X, Li Q. Developmental patterns and computational mechanisms of school-aged children's fairness-related decision making under social comparison. J Exp Child Psychol 2024; 247:106047. [PMID: 39182459 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2024.106047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2024] [Revised: 07/31/2024] [Accepted: 07/31/2024] [Indexed: 08/27/2024]
Abstract
The developmental patterns and computational mechanisms underlying the impact of unfair offers and social comparisons on school-aged children's fairness-related decision making remain unclear. To address this, we recruited 190 children aged 8 to 12 years (52.1% female) in a multi-responder ultimatum game. Results revealed an age-related decline in children's tendency to reject unfair offers, partially mediated by emotions, alongside a slight increase in rejecting inferior social comparisons. Computational modeling identified two distinct motivations guiding children's rejection behavior: inequity aversion and inferior social comparison avoidance. Furthermore, there was significant variability in responses to superior social comparisons, with some children displaying aversion and others seeking. Our refined model enhances the explanatory power of inequity aversion theory in complex multi-player social scenarios, validating and refining existing theories. In addition, the exploration of superior social comparison tendencies reveals individual heterogeneity, enriching our understanding of children's social comparisons. These findings contribute to elucidating the developmental patterns and internal mechanisms of children's socialization processes, offering implications for promoting their social adaptation and mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shujing Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhong Yang
- Institute of Brain Science and Department of Psychology, Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China; Zhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory for Research in Early Development and Childcare, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Kesong Hu
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR 72204, USA
| | - Chunyan Guo
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Jing Xiao
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Guangteng Meng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xun Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Qi Li
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China.
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Fan C, Wang H, Liu D, Sun J, Han F, He W. Proposer's moral identity modulates fairness processing in the ultimatum game: Evidence from behavior and brain potentials. Int J Psychophysiol 2024; 201:112360. [PMID: 38735630 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2024.112360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2024] [Revised: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
Economic decision-making is pivotal to both human private interests and the national economy. People pursue fairness in economic decision-making, but a proposer's moral identity can influence fairness processing. Previous ERP studies have revealed that moral identity has an effect on fairness considerations in the Ultimatum Game (UG), but the findings are inconsistent. To address the issue, we revised the moral-related sentences and used the ERP technique to measure the corresponding neural mechanism. We have observed that the fairness effect in UG can be mirrored in both MFN and P300 changes, whereas the moral identity effect on fairness in UG can be reflected by MFN but not P300 changes. These findings indicate that the moral identity of the proposer can modulate fairness processing in UG. The current study opens new avenues for clarifying the temporal course of the relationship between the proposer's moral identity and fairness in economic decision-making, which is beneficial for understanding the influencing mechanism of fairness processing and fair allocations in complex social contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cong Fan
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Huanxin Wang
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Dingyu Liu
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Jiayi Sun
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Fengxu Han
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Weiqi He
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China.
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The impact of social comparison and (un)fairness on upstream indirect reciprocity: Evidence from ERP. Neuropsychologia 2022; 177:108398. [PMID: 36283458 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 10/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Event-related potential (ERP) technology and the dictator game paradigm are used to explore the formation mechanism of upstream indirect reciprocity behaviors. We design a within subject experiment of 3 (social comparison: upward versus parallel versus downward) × 2 (treatment: fair versus unfair) involving 49 subjects. In the first round of allocations, subjects are forced to accept a monetary amount allocated to them by another player. In the second round, subjects assume the role of allocator and divide a monetary amount between themselves and a third party. Our results show the following: 1) Having received fair treatment from someone else, individuals engaged in downward comparison are more inclined to reciprocate the fairness they had received to a third party compared to individuals in parallel and upward comparison conditions. If individuals receive unfair treatment, they tend to repeat this behavior to a third party regardless of which social comparison condition they are in; 2) Under the condition of upward comparison, individuals receiving unfair treatment exhibit greater FRN amplitude and less P300 amplitude, but in parallel and downward comparison conditions, there is no significance in FRN and P300 amplitude between individuals receiving fair and unfair treatment.
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