Justice Rules or Ingroup Loyalties

Abstract

This study explored the notion that children allocate rewards according to an equity norm when competition is low, but yield to in group loyalties when it is high. In a 2×2×2 factorial design, male and female "supervisors" allocated rewards to a male and female worker under high or low competition conditions. For half the subjects, the same-sex worker was more productive; other subjects saw the opposite-sex worker win. Results indicated that subjects allocated equitably to same- and opposite-sex workers in the low competition condition. In the high competition condition, female subjects increased their allocations to the more productive female worker; male subjects gave her less than she deserved. Implications of these results for future research were discussed.