It happens to many parents: a child who barely speaks yet brings you a sock, hands you a spoon, “helps” in their own way. Is that gesture born in us, or do we learn it? In 2006 Felix Warneken and Michael Tomasello, in the journal Science, observed children as young as 18 months in different situations in which an unfamiliar adult was trying to reach a goal. The children helped quite readily and, according to the authors, this takes two things: understanding what the other person wants and being motivated to help. Three young chimpanzees showed similar skills, but less robust ones.
In 2008 the same authors looked at what happens with rewards. With 20-month-olds, those who had received a material reward in a first phase helped less in the following phase than those who had received social praise or no reward at all. The authors speak of an “overjustification effect” and conclude that even the earliest helping behaviours are driven by intrinsic motivation, which external rewards can weaken.
A few cautions. These are laboratory experiments with very young children and an unfamiliar adult: they do not tell us how each child will behave or how to raise them, and the link with everyday life is ours. I read only the abstracts, so I do not report the number of participants or the details of the tasks.
What can we do with it? These are our own common-sense ideas, not findings of the studies. When a little one offers help, really accept it, even if it slows things down, and thank them in words, saying what it made easier (“that way I could finish sooner”). If you want to encourage kind behaviour, try a smile and a thank-you first, keeping material rewards for other occasions.
And you, what was the first spontaneous act of help from a child you know? Tell us in the comments: I am curious to read your stories.
Sources
- Warneken, F., Tomasello, M. (2006), “Altruistic Helping in Human Infants and Young Chimpanzees”, Science 311(5765), 1301-1303. DOI 10.1126/science.1121448
- Warneken, F., Tomasello, M. (2008), “Extrinsic Rewards Undermine Altruistic Tendencies in 20-Month-Olds”, Developmental Psychology 44(6), 1785-1788. DOI 10.1037/a0013860
The contents of this blog are for information only and do not replace the advice of a doctor or psychologist.
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