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SupportingPeer-reviewed experimental research· Peer-reviewed

Children's evaluation of public and private generosity and its relation to behavior: Evidence from China

Heyman, G. D., Fu, G., Barner, D., Zhishan, H., Zhou, L., & Lee, K. (2016). Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 150, 16–30. DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2016.05.001.

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Summary

Examines how children evaluate generosity shown publicly versus privately, and how those evaluations relate to the children's own generous behavior -- a study of children's social reasoning about giving, not a study of gift selection or product preference.

Key findings

  • Children's evaluations of public versus private generosity are related to their own generous behavior.

GiftNav takeaway

Part of the same broader evidence base explaining why a gift's social/relational signal is understood differently at different ages -- context for the life-stages synthesis, not a direct gift-recommendation input.

Limitations & cautions

Culturally and developmentally specific study population; about generosity evaluation, not gift-giving decisions.

Themes

Used in these research topics

Last reviewed September 14, 2026.

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