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The Development of Justice and Self-Interest during Childhood

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The Justice Motive in Social Behavior

Part of the book series: Critical Issues in Social Justice ((CISJ))

Abstract

Anyone who spends time around young children eventually will encounter the ringing refrain of “That’s not fair!” Beginning as early as the preschool years, fairness plays a central role in every child’s social life. Particularly in its breach, it is a notion of which even young children are acutely aware. The outraged reaction of a 2-year-old to being denied a turn on a swing or a share of a cookie will attest to this early sense, at least as evoked in personally experienced injustices.

The research described in this paper was supported (in part) by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York.

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© 1981 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Damon, W. (1981). The Development of Justice and Self-Interest during Childhood. In: Lerner, M.J., Lerner, S.C. (eds) The Justice Motive in Social Behavior. Critical Issues in Social Justice. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0429-4_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0429-4_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-0431-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-0429-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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