This study examined the development of the principles of distributive justice with the participation of children and teenagers in a hypothetical situation of reward distribution and compared the evolution of the concept of justice to the principles of right and wrong transmitted by the same participants about questions concerning school social rules. The answers given by 90 children from the third, fifth, and seventh grades to questions and stories about school social rules and the concept of distributive justice were examined. The findings showed that children first answerd the questions guided by the apparent results of acts or by accepting the rules and eventually proceeded to analyze intentions. We observed a progressive development of self-autonomy in passing from the equality to the equity principle. Finally we came to the conclusion that there is evolution in using the principles of distributive justice, at different ages and genders, and that this evolution is related to the development of concepts of right and wrong concerning the school social rules.
Psychology; Social Moral Development; Distributive Justice; Equality; Equity