Will power serve for oneself or others? An exploratory study toward 6- to 9-year-old Chinese children

IF 2.8 4区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL Infant and Child Development Pub Date : 2024-10-02 DOI:10.1002/icd.2546

Xiumei Yan, Shumin Duan, Qinge Liang, Yuling Yang

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Abstract

This study investigated Chinese children's perspectives on the use of power and the prediction of these perspectives on their resource allocation. The sample included a total of 145 children from two primary schools in Mainland China (68 males, 77 females), with 70 in the younger group (M _age = 6.89, SD = 0.37, ranging from 6.08 to 7.67 years) and 75 in the older group (M _age = 9.03, SD = 0.55, ranging from 8.08 to 9.92 years). To explore the power perspective of children, they were presented a character who was ‘in charge’ and used his/her power to serve themselves or others. The results showed that children aged 6–9 years were more inclined to approve ‘bosses’ who used power for others' benefit, indicating children's support for benevolent power use, especially among 8–9-year-olds. Additionally, the study revealed that children who approved of benevolent power use tended to allocate more resources to others when possessing power, a behaviour not observed in 6–7-year-olds. This finding, more or less, indicated a correlation between children's perspectives on the use of power and their behaviour in allocating resources. These results demonstrate the importance of promoting a rational understanding of power use among children.

Highlights

All children held the benevolent perspective of power use, which agreed that those in power should use power to serve others.
Children aged 8–9 were more inclined to think a ‘boss’ should prioritize the interests of others over their own.
Children aged 8–9 who supported the benevolent perspective of power use allocate more resources to others.

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来源期刊

Infant and Child Development PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL-

CiteScore

2.90

自引率

9.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： Infant and Child Development publishes high quality empirical, theoretical and methodological papers addressing psychological development from the antenatal period through to adolescence. The journal brings together research on: - social and emotional development - perceptual and motor development - cognitive development - language development atypical development (including conduct problems, anxiety and depressive conditions, language impairments, autistic spectrum disorders, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders)