Young children robustly distinguish between moral norms and conventional norms (Smetana, 1984; Yucel et al., 2020). In existing research, norms about the fair distribution of resources are by definition considered part of the moral domain; they are not distinguished from other moral norms such as those involving physical harm. Yet an understanding of fairness in resource distribution (hereafter, "fairness") emerges late in development and is culturally variable, raising the possibility that fairness may not fall squarely in the moral domain. In 2 preregistered studies, we examined whether U.S. American children who were primarily White see fairness as a moral or conventional norm. In study 1 (N = 96), we did not obtain the established moral-conventional difference needed to investigate questions about the status of fairness. We improved our design in our second preregistered study. In study 2 (N = 94), 4-year-olds rated moral transgressions (e.g., hitting) as more serious than fairness and conventional transgressions (e.g., wearing pajamas to school), but importantly, they rated fairness and conventional transgressions as similarly serious. In contrast, 6- and 8-year-olds rated moral transgressions as more serious than fairness and conventional transgressions, and fairness as more serious than conventional transgressions. An additional, forced-choice procedure revealed that most 6-year-olds also categorized fairness with moral rather than conventional transgressions; 4- and 8-year-olds' responses on this measure did not show systematic patterns. U.S. American children may not equate norms of fairness in resource distribution with harm-based moral norms, even into middle childhood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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幼儿并不认为分配公平是一种道德规范。

幼儿强烈地区分道德规范和传统规范（Smetana，1984；Yucel 等人，2020）。在现有研究中，关于资源公平分配的规范被定义为道德领域的一部分；它们与其他道德规范没有区别，例如涉及身体伤害的道德规范。然而，对资源分配公平（以下简称“公平”）的理解出现在发展的后期，并且在文化上是多变的，这增加了公平可能不完全属于道德领域的可能性。在 2 项预先注册的研究中，我们检查了主要是白人的美国儿童是否将公平视为一种道德规范或传统规范。在研究 1 (N = 96) 中，我们没有获得调查有关公平状况问题所需的既定道德-传统差异。我们在第二个预注册研究中改进了我们的设计。在研究 2 (N = 94) 中，4 岁的孩子认为道德违规（例如，打人）比公平和传统违规（例如，穿着睡衣上学）更严重，但重要的是，他们对公平和传统违规的评价相似严肃的。相比之下，6 岁和 8 岁的孩子认为道德违规比公平和常规违规更严重，而公平比常规违规更严重。另一项强制选择程序显示，大多数 6 岁儿童还将公平归类为道德上的违规行为，而不是传统的违规行为。4 岁和 8 岁儿童对此测量的反应没有显示出系统模式。美国儿童可能不会将资源分配中的公平规范与基于伤害的道德规范等同起来，甚至到了童年中期。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2022 APA，保留所有权利）。