Equity Versus Equality in Allocations to Adults and Children

The equity rule of justice prescribes that outcomes should be allocated among partners according to their inputs or contributions. However, according to research, an equality rule may supersede the equity rule when partners are not held fully responsible for their actions or inputs. On the assumption that children are generally held less responsible for their behavior, it was hypothesized that, when asked to make allocations among adults, participants follow a proportionality norm; however, in dividing allocations among children, they are likely to ignore inputs and adopt an equality norm. In two studies, participants were given scenarios describing different age groups in analogous circumstances: Members of the same family varied in terms of their contributions. Participants were asked to make reward allocations. Results generally supported the predictions.