Managing Limited Resources: Do Children with Learning Problems Share?

Abstract

The present study examined the ability of 56 children with learning problems (resulting from mental retardation or mild cognitive delay) and 56 children without learning problems to resolve the social problem of whether to share limited resources with a peer. Children with and without learning problems offered similar strategies for resolving hypothetical limited resources problems, but responded differently to an actual limited resources problem. Only 15% of the dyads of children with learning problems shared the limited resource as opposed to the 58% of children without learning problems. Non-sharers from the two groups differed in their explanations for their behavior. Results suggest the need for intervention efforts to address factors such as goal orientation and emotional arousal that influence whether children with learning problems choose to share in actual limited resources situations.