Time, Memory, and Perceived Strength of Ownership Claims in Children

• In Event: Ownership and Economic Considerations in Childhood and Adolescence

Abstract

Understanding different forms of ownership is essential for navigating the social world. Previous research has focused on categorical and exclusive forms of ownership, but less is known about situations where ownership claims are non-exclusive and may vary by strength. When a resource can only be claimed temporarily, such as a swing on the playground or a seat in the library, the ownership status is ambiguous and could be informed by temporal cues. In the current inquiry, we examined how children and adults use temporal cues to inform ownership and how this relates to memory for relevant temporal events. Specifically, we asked whether time spent using a resource and time since its abandonment were salient cues in deciding whether a resource is available for use. We hypothesized that the perceived strength of temporary claims should grow with time of use and diminish with time since abandonment.

In Studies 1 (pilot, N=78) & 2 (pre-registered, N=93), four- to seven-year olds and adults observed two characters approach identical resources. Time of use and time abandoned were varied across conditions, then participants were prompted to choose which resource to approach. In both studies, six- to seven-year-olds children and adults were more likely to choose the objects that had been abandoned for a longer time, where the 95% CIs of the predicted probabilities did not overlap with a chance level of 0.5 (Older: 0.64 [0.52, 0.75], Adult: 0.66 [0.53,0.77]). This effect was observed in both 1st person (Study 1) and 3rd person (Study 2) versions of the task. The predicted effect did not occur for time of use.

We next examined whether the ability to remember the use and abandoned events limited children’s use of these cues. In Study 3 (in progress), we examined the memory of time of use and time abandoned directly using the same design. The key difference was that, instead of asking participants to identify the more appropriate object for use, we asked them two memory questions: 1) which object was used for longer? and 2) which object was left first? Order of questions were counterbalanced across participants. Preliminary data (N= 98) from children showed that 6- to 7- year olds were more likely to answer both memory questions correctly compared to younger ones, and children from both age groups answered the question regarding time abandoned more accurately compared to the question regarding time of use. Adult data collection has just started. These patterns align with results from Study 1 & 2, and suggest that abandonment is a more potent cue to ownership, perhaps because it is easier to remember or more salient. These studies combined lay a foundation for research on non-exclusive forms of ownership and suggest a representational structure for claims that is distinct from categorical forms of ownership, for example, an analog system for claim strength that increases with time of usage and gradually diminishes after abandonment, and depends on the memory of these temporal cues. 

Authors

• Xiaoou Jin, Boston University
  Presenting Author

• Peter R. Blake, Boston University

• Isabella Maehl