Does Self-Control Foster Generosity? Evidence from Ego Depleted Children

•There is a strong relationship between self-control and the probability of donating for young children.•Self-control is also a significant determinant of the amount of donation.•Exploiting timing of the experiment as an instrument for ego-depletion, we find that self-control causes a significant in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of behavioral and experimental economics 2021-02, Vol.90, p.101652, Article 101652
Main Author: Ugur, Zeynep B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Altruism
Child psychology
Cognition & reasoning
Cognitive ability
Donation
Ego depletion
Prosocial behavior
Self control
Social interaction
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Summary:•There is a strong relationship between self-control and the probability of donating for young children.•Self-control is also a significant determinant of the amount of donation.•Exploiting timing of the experiment as an instrument for ego-depletion, we find that self-control causes a significant increase in donation among young children. If people enjoy giving, then why do they not always give? This study examines whether self-control influences prosocial behavior among 316 young children. For this purpose, we experimentally elicited self-control, altruism, and cognitive skills. In line with previous studies, we find that the majority of children, like adults, tend to give away some of their endowments. Our main finding is that self-control is significantly associated with altruism. Using children's participation time to our game as an instrument, we show that self-control depletion leads to significantly lower altruism among children.
ISSN:2214-8043
2214-8051
DOI:10.1016/j.socec.2020.101652