Children are more tolerant of partiality in asking for help than in providing help.

Abstract

As children grow older, they become increasingly critical of group-based partiality in providing help. However, the developmental trajectory of how children evaluate partiality in asking for help is largely unknown. Our study investigates evaluations and expectations of group-based partiality in providing versus asking for help in 5- to 10-year-old children (n = 164; 54.3% girls, 45.7% boys) from the New England region of the United States. In the study, participants learn about two groups of children at a playground and make predictions about their interactions. Because ingroup favoritism in asking for help does not immediately lead to negative outcomes for the outgroup, we predicted different responses regarding biased requests for help compared to biased helping. We find that children generally deem ingroup favoritism more acceptable in asking for help than in providing help. We also see age-related changes: Younger children evaluate ingroup favoritism in asking for help positively, while older children view it neutrally. In contrast, both age groups view ingroup favoritism in providing help negatively. Additionally, children from both age groups expect group-based partiality when responding to requests for help and when asking for it, showing some divergence between what children deem acceptable and what they deem likely to occur. Ingroup bias in asking for help is both accepted and expected and may contribute to the persistence of partiality in cooperation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).