What Do You Think About Unequal Rules?

For 9 year old children who understand and speak English.

Your child will hear about an old rule made by the Reds that affected the type of jeans the Blues could wear. Your child will learn about the type of jeans the two groups (Reds and Blues) wore before and after the rule. Then, children will be asked questions about the current type of jeans each group wears and what each group’s preferences are.

After long periods of time, individuals may have a harder time linking current inequalities to previous events and rules, instead attributing the inequalities to inherent characteristics in individual social groups. This study examines if and how children are able to link current inequalities to former rules. Children learn about two groups—the “Reds” and the “Blues.” The Reds made a rule a long time ago prohibiting the Blues from wearing the same jeans as the Reds. We will examine whether children are able to link the current inequality—the difference in the quality of jeans—to the rule, as well as if children will attribute the inequality to the historic rule or inherent preferences within each group. This research will help us figure out how children interpret and infer causes of inequality. This research will then contribute to learning the most effective ways to explain current inequalities to children!

10 minutes

Participants will be emailed a $5 (US dollars) Amazon.com gift card by the following Monday after finishing the study. To receive the gift card, the child must be 9-years-old and the child must be visible during the entire session. Children can only participate and receive compensation once. If the child has siblings that are also eligible, they may participate separately to receive another $5 gift card.