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Social status modulates prosocial behavior and egalitarianism in preschool children and adults

Guinote, A; Cotzia, I; Sandhu, S; Siwa, P; (2015) Social status modulates prosocial behavior and egalitarianism in preschool children and adults. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , 112 (3) pp. 731-736. 10.1073/pnas.1414550112. Green open access

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Abstract

Humans are a cooperative species, capable of altruism and the creation of shared norms that ensure fairness in society. However, individuals with different educational, cultural, economic, or ethnic backgrounds differ in their levels of social investment and endorsement of egalitarian values. We present four experiments showing that subtle cues to social status (i.e., prestige and reputation in the eyes of others) modulate prosocial orientation. The experiments found that individuals who experienced low status showed more communal and prosocial behavior, and endorsed more egalitarian life goals and values compared with those who experienced high status. Behavioral differences across high- and low-status positions appeared early in human ontogeny (4-5 y of age).

Type: Article
Title: Social status modulates prosocial behavior and egalitarianism in preschool children and adults
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1414550112
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1414550112
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: altruism, prosocial behavior, social hierarchies, social status, Adult, Child, Preschool, Humans, Social Behavior, Social Class
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Experimental Psychology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1457752
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