Cognitive Aspects of Sharing

Abstract

To probe certain logical aspects of preschoolers' dealing and counting we showed edited highlights of three preschool children engaged in sharing activities to 17 second-grade children in an interview situation. In the videotaped episodes, the preschoolers routinely counted or checked the heights of the stacks when asked how they knew there was a fair share; the second graders, with one notable, and another possible, exception, expressed the view that counting after dealing was essential to tell if there was a fair share. One second grader gave us articulate explanations about the procedures used by the preschoolers, and another apparently changed her mind during the course of the interview about the need to count after dealing out.