More is better? Exploring developmental changes in the impact of descriptive norms on evaluations of sharing

Abstract

Properly assessing others’ sharing is crucial for social life. However, what constitutes generous sharing often lacks absolute standards, so people have to rely on available social cues to form their own judgments. Here, we explored how descriptive norm information (i.e., what most people commonly do) influenced Chinese individuals’ evaluation of others’ sharing (N = 540, 263 female) and how this effect changes with development from childhood to adulthood. Participants read a vignette where a protagonist shared a specific amount, while the amount shared by a peer majority varied across conditions. The results showed that 5- to 11-year-old children evaluated the protagonist highest for sharing beyond the norm, next for matching the norm, and lowest for sharing below the norm. However, adolescents and adults were more conservative in their evaluations, being less positive about above-norm sharing and less negative about below-norm sharing. Analysis of the justifications showed that children mostly used descriptive norms to assess the magnitude of sharing. Adolescents and adults more often inferred the complex motivations behind the protagonist’s actions and considered its potential social consequences. These findings reveal that, with development, individuals increasingly use descriptive norms to evaluate others’ sharing in more complex and diverse ways, and those socialized in Chinese culture may have distinct approaches to assessing sharing behaviors.