| Literature DB >> 22716967 |
Susan A Gelman1, Erika M Manczak, Nicholaus S Noles.
Abstract
For adults, ownership is nonobvious: (a) determining ownership depends more on an object's history than on perceptual cues, and (b) ownership confers special value on an object ("endowment effect"). This study examined these concepts in preschoolers (2.0-4.4) and adults (n=112). Participants saw toy sets in which 1 toy was designated as the participant's and 1 as the researcher's. Toys were then scrambled and participants were asked to identify their toy and the researcher's toy. By 3years of age, participants used object history to determine ownership and identified even undesirable toys as their own. Furthermore, participants at all ages showed an endowment effect (greater liking of items designated as their own). Thus, even 2-year-olds appreciate the nonobvious basis of ownership.Entities:
Mesh:
Year: 2012 PMID: 22716967 PMCID: PMC3440556 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01806.x
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Child Dev ISSN: 0009-3920