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This study examines how children respond to epistemic injustice in peer interactions across cultures.

May 21, 2026Child Development0 citations

Children in Kenya and the US are averse to epistemic injustice

CJColin Jacobs OROded Ritov ECEmily Chau

Key Points

This study examines how children respond to epistemic injustice in peer interactions across cultures.
Preregistered study conducted in Nanyuki, Kenya, and Berkeley, USA with N=192 children aged 4-10.
Children evaluated an adult's beliefs during dyadic interactions in inequity and control conditions.
Gender distribution was 50% female.
Children perceived the listener as fair in the control condition and unfair in the inequity condition.
Cross-cultural differences were found in the age at which moral judgments emerged.
Emotional responses varied between children in the two cultural contexts.

Abstract

This preregistered study investigated children's response to testimonial injustice in peer-to-peer dyadic interactions across two cultural contexts-Nanyuki, Kenya, and Berkeley, USA (N = 192, ages 4-10, 50% female; 2023-2024). In an inequity condition, an adult listener repeatedly believed one child over another when they offered conflicting testimony. In a control condition, the listener disbelieved both children. Children in both societies evaluated the listener as fair in the control condition and unfair in the inequity condition regardless of whether they were believed or disbelieved. There was cross-cultural variation in the age of onset for these moral judgments, and different patterns of emotional responses. These findings point to an early-emerging sensitivity to whether someone's voice is given fair consideration across two cultural contexts.

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