Sharing Behavior in First- and Fifth-Graders: Effects of Recipient Generosity and Actual Versus Hypothetical Sharing

Summary

Half of 64 first-graders (32M and 32F) and half of 64 fifth-graders (32M and 32F) were asked to pretend to share from 50 pennies with a person described as selfish or unselfish (hypothetical sharing). The other half of the Ss in each age group actually earned 50 pennies in a letter-sorting task and then shared their earnings with a hypothetical recipient (actual sharing). One week later, the Ss under the hypothetical condition also actually earned 50 pennies and in like manner were asked to share from their earnings. All main effects among hypothetical and the two forms of actual sharing were nonsignificant. Larger donations were made to the unselfish recipient by both age groups, and the fifth-graders made larger donations than the first-graders (p < .01). In a postexperimental interview the fifth-graders were asked to state the amount significant others (father, mother, best friend, teacher, and classmates) would have expected them to share. The expectations of best friend were closest to the amount the Ss shared.