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To be unfair Even babies understand that dominance pays off better
To be fair and to be fair is one of the characteristics that many people highly praise. Only one does not seem to get far with fairness and justice often. Even babies understand that: In one experiment it became apparent that even the smallest ones assume that dominance pays off.
Some have more of life
Snatched the parking lot, vorgedrängelt at the box office, taken at the buffet, the most sought after food: people who behave more dominant, while others often look awry, but they often get more out of life than people who are always just and fair. Even babies understand this, as an experiment by scientists in the USA showed.
Even babies understand that justice often does not get that far. As shown in an experiment, infants already expect dominant behavior to pay off. (Image: Elena Stepanova / fotolia.com) Experiment with toddlers
Who is always good and reserved, apparently has less of life. Even toddlers assume that socially dominant persons are treated differently.
This was discovered by an American research team in an experiment that they report on in the journal "Cognition".
The scientists observed 80 infants who had to watch videos with dolls. The 17-month-old children sat on the lap of their parents.
The behavioral scientists measured how long the little ones looked at something.
Children expect benefits for more dominant behavior
At first, the little ones could see that the dolls happily sat on a purple and a brown chair, according to a report in the magazine "New Scientist". There were no conflicts.
When the dolls were given Lego pieces, the babies were surprised that some received more than others. The little ones looked longer at the screens.
Subsequently, the puppets fought, with the more aggressive won. However, when the puppets got lego pieces again after that, the toddlers were amazed that the dominant puppet was not given anymore.
According to the researchers, the little ones seemed to expect that the more aggressive will receive more.
"They are committed to what they observe - who is more powerful or more competent - and make more predictions," said team member Hyo Gweon at Stanford University in California.
Why equitable distribution does not work
One of the study authors, Jessica Sommerville of the University of Washington, Seattle, said that "the fact that dominance and resource concepts are aligned and established so early can have consequences for wider societal issues.".
It could also help explain why people endorse the equitable distribution of resources, but this usually does not work and many still have much more than they deserve.
All children tested were from the USA. Laura Van Berkel from the University of Cologne asks, according to "New Scientist", whether toddlers from more egalitarian countries have behaved in the same way. (Ad)