Anyone with memories of kindergarten may recall that sharing was not always the highest priority for some kids. Now, a new study published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology suggests that children who lack sympathy for others are more likely to engage in sharing if they respect the morals of their peers.

Share on Pinterest Previous research suggests that moral feelings may motivate children to help others.

“Previous research suggests that moral feelings may motivate children to help others,” says study author Antonio Zuffianò. “However, as much of this work has focused on the role of sympathy alone, we explored the combined role of children’s respect for moral others and sympathy in relation to sharing.”

Zuffianò and colleagues, from the University of Toronto in Canada, recruited 84 7-year-olds and 62 15-year-olds to participate in an experiment with the ominous title of “the dictator game.”

In the dictator game, each child was provided with six chocolate coins and given the option of sharing or not sharing with an anonymous, hypothetical other child.

The children in the study were given information on their hypothetical counterparts in stories. The hypothetical children were always of the same gender and age as the studied child.

The participants were asked to indicate how much they rated the hypothetical child – based on the information in the stories – as being fair, prosocial, socially inclusive and nonaggressive towards others.

In addition, the caregivers of the children filled in questionnaires on the ability of their child to feel sympathy for others and share.

Analyzing the results, the researchers found that children who demonstrated low levels of sympathy were more likely to share with their hypothetical counterpart when they indicated respect for their morals.