The influence of cooperation and competition on children’s resource allocation: Differences between interindividual and intergroup interactions

Previous research on children’s resource allocation in cooperative and competitive contexts has primarily focused on either interindividual interactions (interaction between two individuals) or intergroup interactions (interaction between two groups), with few studies adopting a comparative framework that simultaneously assesses allocation patterns across both social contexts (cooperation/competition) and interaction types (interindividual/intergroup). Specifically, little is known about how cooperation versus competition differentially shapes children’s allocation decisions when interacting with individuals versus groups. To address this issue, 601 children aged 3–5 and 6–8 years were asked to allocate resources either between themselves and a partner (interindividual condition) or between their group and another group (intergroup condition) under cooperative, competitive, or neutral (control) contexts. Additionally, a forced-choice game task (including sharing, prosocial, and envy trials) was used to explore whether children’s behavioral differences were due to prosocial, egalitarian, or egoistic motivations. Results showed that in competitive contexts, children in both age groups allocated more resources to their own side. Notably, 3- to 5-year-olds allocated more resources to themselves than to their group, whereas 6- to 8-year-olds showed the opposite pattern, allocating more to their group than to themselves. Moreover, in the forced-choice task, 6- to 8-year-olds made more choices that benefited their own side in the intergroup condition than in the interindividual condition. In the cooperative context, 6- to 8-year-olds demonstrated an egalitarian tendency in resource allocation, with no significant differences between the interindividual and intergroup conditions. These findings suggest that in competitive contexts, children’s resource allocation shifts from prioritizing personal interests to considering ingroup interests, whereas in cooperative contexts, children show an egalitarian tendency in resource allocation regardless of interaction type. These results enhance our understanding of how interindividual and intergroup interactions, along with cooperation versus competition, jointly influence resource allocation during development.