Babies know right from wrong and have a concern for the welfare of others at just 15-months-old, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the University of Washington tested 47 babies to examine how sensitive they are to others’ feelings at 15-months-old.
To determine whether children know right from wrong at an early age, the 15-month-old babies were each shown a video in which a researcher unevenly distributed milk and crackers between two people, followed by a similar film where the food was shared equally.
They found that most of the babies spent more time looking at the screen in the film were the food was unevenly distributed, concluding that babies pay greater attention when something surprises them.
In another task, where children were given the option of sharing their preferred toy or non-preferred toy with a stranger or not share at all, two-thirds chose to share their preferred toy.
When researchers compared results from both of the tests they found that the majority of babies who offered to share their preferred toy had also spent more time looking at the unfair distribution of the food during the first video, suggesting that their actions were motivated by their concern for others.
On the other hand, 62 per cent of those who shared their least preferred toy, dubbed ‘selfish sharers’, had been more surprised and paid more attention to the film which showed that food was divided equally.
The study, ‘Fairness Expectations and Altruistic Sharing in 15-Month-Old Human Infants’, is published in the PLoS ONE journal.
To determine whether children know right from wrong at an early age, the 15-month-old babies were each shown a video in which a researcher unevenly distributed milk and crackers between two people, followed by a similar film where the food was shared equally.
They found that most of the babies spent more time looking at the screen in the film were the food was unevenly distributed, concluding that babies pay greater attention when something surprises them.
In another task, where children were given the option of sharing their preferred toy or non-preferred toy with a stranger or not share at all, two-thirds chose to share their preferred toy.
When researchers compared results from both of the tests they found that the majority of babies who offered to share their preferred toy had also spent more time looking at the unfair distribution of the food during the first video, suggesting that their actions were motivated by their concern for others.
On the other hand, 62 per cent of those who shared their least preferred toy, dubbed ‘selfish sharers’, had been more surprised and paid more attention to the film which showed that food was divided equally.
The study, ‘Fairness Expectations and Altruistic Sharing in 15-Month-Old Human Infants’, is published in the PLoS ONE journal.
