International Journal of Behavioral Development, Ahead of Print.
This study explores the development of children’s equity behaviors in the context of resource inequality. A total of 181 Asian children (50.8% female) aged 6–8 years and from medium socioeconomic backgrounds were randomly assigned to either resource-advantaged (rich) or resource-disadvantaged (poor) conditions. The children acted as allocators and distributed additional resources to recipients in both the first- and third-party allocation scenarios. The results showed that 8-year-olds, but not 6- and 7-year-olds, demonstrated a tendency to prioritize need-based allocation when they were wealthier, allocating a greater share to poor recipients. Even in third-party distribution tasks, children engaged more in need-based allocation behaviors because of their resource advantages. These findings emphasize how the social comparison of resources influences children’s distribution behavior and have theoretical implications for understanding the development of charitable human behavior in early childhood within the context of economic inequality.