
We show that preschoolers exhibit the endowment effect as evidenced by experiments where children generally chose to keep their own toys rather than trading them for similar ones. Furthermore, we relate the emergence of this effect to children's innate psychobiological traits--emotional state, gender, handedness, and digit ratio. The trials were conducted with 141 children across 6 kindergartens. We also found support that children, like adults, exhibit a preference for physical possession as opposed to ownership. As with adults, emotions also seem to matter, as children who were described as quiet and calm were more likely to present the endowment effect. Also of note, right-handed children described as quiet were more likely to exhibit the phenomenon. Furthermore, female children were generally found to be calmer than males, while males tended to be more fearful than females. This result was also previously found in teenagers.
Male, Science, Q, Emotions, Ownership, R, D87 - Neuroeconomics, Choice Behavior, Functional Laterality, Play and Playthings, Sex Factors, Child, Preschool, D03 - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles, Medicine, Humans, Female, Endowment effect; Children, Research Article, jel: jel:D87, jel: jel:D03
Male, Science, Q, Emotions, Ownership, R, D87 - Neuroeconomics, Choice Behavior, Functional Laterality, Play and Playthings, Sex Factors, Child, Preschool, D03 - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles, Medicine, Humans, Female, Endowment effect; Children, Research Article, jel: jel:D87, jel: jel:D03
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 6 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Average |
