Abstract Some forms of cooperative helping do not bind people from a moral perspective but ensure the functioning of social groups. Here, we have assessed how children coordinate such nonobligatory social concerns with group identity concerns. We have performed three studies (3–11-years-old; N = 393) aimed at testing children’s peer preferences and resource allocation toward neutral individuals that engage in helping and hindering behaviors toward in-group and out-group peers. In Study 1, we have found that, in helping contexts, children prioritized group concerns and exhibited in-group favoritism. In hindering contexts, they privileged helping norms and did not exhibit out-group derogation. In Studies 2 and 3, we have confirmed that transgressions of cooperative helping norms outweighed intergroup bias. Our results suggest that, when cooperative helping norms conflict with group identity concerns, helping norms take priority. When these principles are coextensive and not in conflict, children give priority to group concerns.

中文翻译：

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违反合作帮助规范超过了儿童的群体间偏见

摘要 某些形式的合作帮助并没有从道德角度约束人们，而是确保社会群体的运作。在这里，我们评估了儿童如何将这些非强制性的社会问题与群体身份问题协调起来。我们进行了三项研究（3-11 岁；N = 393），旨在测试儿童对中立个体的同伴偏好和资源分配，这些个体参与对群体内和群体外同伴的帮助和阻碍行为。在研究 1 中，我们发现，在帮助环境中，儿童优先考虑群体关注并表现出群体内偏爱。在阻碍环境中，他们对帮助规范享有特权，并且没有表现出群体外的贬损。在研究 2 和 3 中，我们已经证实合作帮助规范的违反超过了群体间偏见。我们的结果表明，当合作性帮助规范与群体认同问题发生冲突时，帮助规范优先。当这些原则同时存在且不冲突时，儿童会优先考虑群体问题。