Even if they are not always able to express them, children can apparently understand complex concepts such as wealth from a young age. US research, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, found that kids as young as 14 months appear to show a preference for “wealthier” people.
A research team from UC Berkeley conducted seven experiments with toddlers aged 11 to 18 months to find out whether or not they showed a preference for “wealthier” individuals – that is, those with the most material resources.
To do this, the researchers first placed 35 children and two adults in the same room. Each adult had a transparent bowl in their hands – one filled with toys or treats, the other completely empty.
After spending some time with the children, the volunteers left the room, only to return a few minutes later with two opaque bowls. Although the children couldn’t see the contents of each container, they tended to show a preference for the adult who previously had the bowl full of toys/treats.
The academics see this as an indication that children are capable of forming an idea about the material situation of two individuals. But do they attach any importance to this and, above all, do they adapt their behaviour according to each person’s level of wealth?
This would appear to be the case: young children were more cooperative with “wealthy” people than others, and were more likely to help adults they had identified as “rich” than those they remembered as not having any. They also played more with them.
“It’s very clear that toddlers can track well and have behavioural preferences in favour of people who have more,” said study lead author Arianne Eason.
The experts observed that children begin to make value judgements about the individuals they meet, based on their level of resources, from as early as 14 months of age.
“These are early-ingrained tendencies,” the researchers said, adding that it is possible to deconstruct them through educational efforts with the very young. This could be the key to a more equitable world, where overcoming bias could help make wealth disparities less pronounced.