# The impact of inequality on young children's prosocial behavior

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA · 2020 · $80,750

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Wealth inequality has long been linked to adverse health outcomes such as higher mortality, obesity, and
illness. Importantly, a growing literature also links inequality to declines in vital forms of social functioning and
wellbeing. Having less than others, and especially perceiving that the disparity is unjustified, makes individuals
less prosocial and more mistrusting, aggressive, intolerant, and risk seeking. Yet little is known about how the
experience of inequality impacts social functioning and wellbeing in early childhood. What little work exists on
this topic has been correlational in nature and has used measures of socioeconomic status rather than
inequality, thus precluding causal conclusions about the impact of inequality. Further, prior work has not
addressed how children's perception of inequality as justified versus unjustified impacts their social behaviors.
The current proposal seeks to elucidate these questions, with a focus on the effects of inequality on 6-9-year-
old children's prosocial behavior. The proposed studies will use an experimental approach to create inequality
of resources between a participant child and an absent peer. In Study 1, children will either receive fewer
resources than the peer, more than the peer, or the same as the peer, or fewer resources in a nonsocial
context. Subsequently, children's prosocial (helping) behavior towards a researcher will be assessed. This first
study will establish how experiencing inequality, and specifically having less than others, impacts children's
prosocial behavior. In Study 2, children will experience either justified inequality (receiving less than the peer
after performing worse than the peer on a task), unjustified inequality (receiving less than the peer after
performing better than the peer), or justified equality (receiving the same as the peer after performing as well
as the peer). Again, children's prosocial (helping) behavior will subsequently be assessed. This study will
establish how unjustified inequality in particular impacts children's prosocial behavior. This research will lay the
foundation, establish a set of tasks, and obtain a first set of findings that will serve a larger research program
on the near-term and long-term impact of inequality on children's social development and wellbeing. The
ultimate goal of this work is to attenuate the adverse effects of inequality on children's social behaviors and
developmental outcomes, thus contributing to their long-term health and wellbeing.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9953154
- **Project number:** 1R03HD101652-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Amrisha Vaish
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $80,750
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-03-06 → 2022-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9953154

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9953154, The impact of inequality on young children's prosocial behavior (1R03HD101652-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9953154. Licensed CC0.

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