TITLE:
Explaining Reciprocal Sharing in Repeated Dictator Game: The Role of Theory of Mind
AUTHORS:
Weiwei Wang, Wen Liu
KEYWORDS:
Sharing, Reciprocity, Theory of Mind, Children
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.10 No.7,
July
12,
2022
ABSTRACT: This study investigated children’s development in
reciprocal sharing behavior and the relationship between theory of mind and
children’s reciprocal sharing. We presented 3-, 4- and 5-year-old children with
reciprocal and non-reciprocal
conditions in repeated dictator games. Results showed that when making decisions
about how much to share, all three groups of children shared more resources when their partners have opportunity to reciprocate. However, only 5-
and 4-year-old groups showed a statistical significance. Furthermore, the
ability of theory of mind is positively related to children’s reciprocal
sharing. Children who were better at false-belief tasks shared significantly
more resources with their partner in a reciprocal sharing condition, but not a
non-reciprocal sharing condition.