Abstract

Previous research has shown that human adults and children personally endorse egalitarian behaviours and reward individuals who display them. In an experimental study we explored this latter effect among children. In particular, we assessed how children evaluate unselfish in-group members who distribute all their resources to two targets in either an equal or unequal way. Results demonstrated an overall preference for egalitarianism which was modulated by the characteristics of the recipients, so that inequality aversion was weakened when an out-group member was the target of discrimination (i.e., parochialism). These effects were largely unaffected by the dimension underlining the group differentiation, by the entity of the discrimination, and by the age of the respondents, demonstrating how the preference for egalitarian behaviours and parochialism are deeply rooted into human social perception.