How parents’ social comparison orientation influences children’s decision in a public goods game

ABSTRACT

Frequent social comparisons can not only influence parents’ well-being but also spill over to their children’s development through intergenerational influences within the family. Using data from children and their parents, the current study shows that the higher parents’ social comparison orientation is, the less their children are willing to contribute to the public in a public goods game. Moreover, we find that if children interact more frequently with non-family members, the effects of parents’ social comparison orientation on children’s decision in public goods game become stronger. The findings of this study serve as a warning for parents and policy makers regarding the downside of excessive social comparisons and shed light on how frequent social comparisons influence human social interaction from an intergenerational perspective.

KEYWORDS:

• Children
• social comparison
• public goods game
• intergenerational transmission
• socialization

Acknowledgments

We would like to give our appreciation to the teachers and parents for allowing us to conduct the study, and most importantly, to the children for participating in this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [No. 71772045].

Notes on contributors

Alex Chien Po Yen

Alex Chien Po Yen is a Ph.D. graduate from Fudan University School of Management in Shanghai. His current research focuses on impact of family factors in children's decisions.

Huixin Deng

Huixin Deng is a graduate student at School of Management at the Fudan University. Her current research interests include children's decision making and social influence in the marketing.

Liyin Jin

Liyin Jin is a professor at School of Management at the Fudan University. His research interests include social cognition, goals and motivation, social influence and decision making.