Sharing and Caring

4- to 10-year-old children

This study will take place on a Zoom video call with a researcher! Clicking on the “Schedule a time to participate” button will send you to an online calendar where you can select a date and time that works best for you.

A researcher will read your child a few short stories. The stories will be about situations where a character must decide whether or not to share one of their toys with someone else. In some stories, your child will be asked whether they think the character will share their toy. In other stories, your child will be asked why they think the character ultimately shared or did not share their toy.

Past research shows that children are more likely to share with their friends than with strangers. However, even when we like someone, we might still be unwilling to share with them because the possession is valuable to us. Using short storybooks, the present study asks whether children consider relationships and the value of objects when reasoning about sharing decisions. This study will help us better understand how children make difficult social decisions and decide when to behave prosocially with others.

15 minutes

Participants will receive a $5 Amazon.com gift card. The gift card will be sent within 24 hours after the session. Only one gift card per participant and the participant must be in the age range for the study to receive the gift card.