Do Five Year-Olds Care about Their Positive or Negative Reputations?

Abstract

In our social lives, we strategically manage our own reputations in relation to others. However, the developmental pathway of reputation management and its mechanisms have not yet been fully investigated. The present study examined whether 5 year-olds display concern for their positive or negative reputations when monitored by an observer. We also studied the effect of displaying an image of a pair of eyes in front of children. In Experiment 1, children did not selectively increase their donations of stickers to a recipient when they were watched by an observer, which indicated a lack of concern for their positive reputations. In Experiment 2, children tended to steal fewer stickers from an absent recipient in the presence of an observer. However, their behavior did not differ when the eye image was displayed, compared to a display of a control image (flowers). These results indicate that children already have developed an awareness of their negative reputations when they are being watched by an observer. The data have implications for the prevalence of negative over positive reputation management among preschoolers.