Just rewards: 17-month-old infants expect agents to take resources according to the principles of distributive justice

Abstract

Adults expect distributive justice-that rewards are distributed according to the principles of equality and equity. Previous research has demonstrated that preschool-aged children are sensitive to distributive justice, yet the age at which these sensitivities emerge remains unknown. The current research demonstrates that 17-month-old infants (N = 84) expect individuals to distribute shared resources based on the amount of work each partner contributed to attain the resources. These findings provide evidence that sensitivity to two principles of distributive justice, equity and equality, emerges much earlier than has previously been suggested.