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How should people act in inheritance situations? Specifying differences in expectations

Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, jgoodnow{at}westnet.com.au

Jeanette A. Lawrence

University of Melbourne, Australia

To check proposals about differences in what people think should occur in inheritance situations, two groups (mean ages 18 and 75 years) judged several actions involving inheritable things (e.g., a son sells his father's war medals; a grandfather sends all his possessions to auction). Cluster analysis confirmed that (1) differences took the form of variations in the priority given to various concerns (concerns with family feelings, family heritage, and individual rights), (2) age was associated with priority differences (the older group more often gave priority to family feelings and to individual rights), and (3) priorities were linked to views about appropriate goals and to levels of disapproval for various actions. The results bring out ways to specify differences across and within age groups, and point to ways of extending the analysis of inheritance expectations.

Key Words: age differences • inheritances • person-oriented strategies • relationship obligations

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