J. K i ley Haml i n , PhD

Assoc ia te Profes so r of Psyc ho logy

The Un ive r s i ty of Br i t i s h Co lumbia

THE EMOTIONAL BENEFITS OF

BEHAVING PROSOCIALLY:

STUDIES WITH

1-4-YEAR-OLDS

Any act performed with the immediate goal of benefiting another person

Helping, sharing, donating, cooperating, volunteering, etc.

Humans are strikingly prosocial

PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

Given prosocial behaviour is costly, we must be motivated to perform it.

Genuine altruistic concern:

Empathy; we wish to improve others’ lot

Self-interest:

Others’ need/distress makes us uncomfortable

Expect payback

Improve our reputation

HUMANS ARE REALLY PROSOCIAL…BUT WHY?

BUT HOW DO WE START BEING

PROSOCIAL?

HOW DO WE START BEING PROSOCIAL?

Infants and toddlers are remarkably prosocial…

Socialization practices begin very ear ly in l ife?

Reputational concerns?

Because altruism is “natural”? (Warneken & Tomasello, 2009)

Our nearest primate relatives help us and each other

Helping is intrinsically motivating: rewarding children for helping makes them help less in the future.

WHY ARE VERY YOUNG CHILDREN

PROSOCIAL?

Adults who donate more of their income/time are happier

Adults happier after assigned to spend $5 on someone else versus themselves

Holds across culture and socioeconomic status

Does happiness promote/ //sustain early acts of prosociality?

EVIDENCE OF INTRINSIC MOTIVATION: BEING

PROSOCIAL MAKES ADULTS FEEL GOOD

23-month-old toddlers

Game: giving food to stuffed animals

After each “phase” of game, toddlers’ facial

expressions coded for “happiness” on a 1-7 scale

1 = extremely unhappy (crying);

7 = extremely happy (laughing)

DO VERY EARLY ACTS OF GIVING LEAD TO

HAPPINESS?

A: Child meets Monkey

B: Child receives 8 treats

C : Child watches experimenter give “found” treat to Monkey

D : Child gives “found” treat to Monkey

E: Child gives own treat to Monkey

5 PHASES

* Social interaction, no giving

* Receiving

* See monkey receive treats & respond happily

* Non-costly giving; Monkey responds happily

* Costly giving; Monkey responds happily

(Phases C-D

presented in

random order)

EXAMPLE – 23-MONTH-OLD GIRL

RESULTS

Toddlers happier after giving than receiving

Happier after costly (real!) giving than after non-costly giving

No gender effects

We’ve since found this again with a second group of toddlers in

Vancouver

STUDY CONCLUSIONS

Perhaps giving goldfish is not really all that “costly”?

Perhaps toddlers have been socialized that costly is better than

non-costly giving

happiness results because toddlers expect more praise?

BUT…

South-Pacif ic is land nation with l i t t le exposure to Western wor ld

Small-scale vi l lages; subsis tence/col lect iv i s t l iv ing

Very rare for children to receive treats/candy

Social izat ion pract ices quite different

direct teaching is rare; mainly observational learning

Strong emotional displays are counter-normat ive

EACH of these might make the relat ionsh ip between giving and happiness

different in Vanuatuan c hi ldren than in Canadian c hi ldren

VANUATU

2-4-year-olds (n=20=all available children in this range)

Used fruit Mentos, a highly prized resource

Most children seen or heard of these, but had not eaten

VERY SAME STUDY IN VANUATU

VERY SAME RESULTS

Children in 2 vastly different cultural contexts both show the same

happiness boost after giving than after receiving

Especially when giving is personally costly

Suggests the “warm glow” may reflect a human universal, which

sustains costly prosociality amongst humans from very ear ly in l ife

RESULTS SUMMARY

Experiencing pleasure after costly prosocial behaviour

emerges early in children in vastly different cultures

(How) can we use these results to promote prosociality?

Cultivate the child’s motivation to help/give/etc. via practice

The good feelings they experience should inspire future prosocial acts

Prosocial acts should be costly, but not TOO costly

Think goldfish, not their favourite toy

Essentially, we need to help children help others

IMPLICATIONS