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Cited by 119Child and Animal Learning DevelopmentPsychology of Moral and Emotional JudgmentExperimental Behavioral Economics Studies

Rethinking natural altruism: Simple reciprocal interactions trigger children’s benevolence

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Cortes Barragan, Rodolfo, Dweck, Carol S.·2014·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1073/pnas.1419408111PMC PMC4260564
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Abstract

Significance: This research showed that a very simple reciprocal activity elicited high degrees of altruism in 1- and 2-y-old children (as well as older children), whereas friendly but nonreciprocal activity did not. By doing so, it calls into question the current, dominant claim that young humans are naturally and spontaneously altruistic and that socialization cannot account for their altruistic actions. Beyond their scientific innovation, the findings can have important implications for adult–child interactions. Caregivers may engage in simple reciprocal activities that foster both the enactment of altruism in children and their expectation of altruism from others.

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  • Reciprocal play, but not parallel play, within 2-year-old and adult dyads relates to altruistic behaviors such as helping.

    “In four separate studies, Barragan and Dweck (2014) found that reciprocal play but not parallel play within the dyad related to altruistic behaviors such as helping the adult reach a block, a bottle, a clothespin, and a pencil.”

    From The evolved nest, oxytocin functioning, and prosocial development (2023) · cites this paper as Barragan and Dweck (2014)

    Study 1 reports that 1- and 2-year-olds who played reciprocally helped an adult reach a block, bottle, clothespin, and pencil more often than those who played in parallel; Study 2 also found more helping after reciprocal play. But the sentence overextends that helping result across all four studies: Study 3 measured generosity in 4-year-olds, and Study 4 measured 4-year-olds’ expectations of others’ benevolence, not their helping behavior. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Research works printed but not linked: 21

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Authors
Cortes Barragan, R., & Dweck, C. S.
Affiliations
  • Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
  • Stanford University (US)
ORCID
Dweck, Carol S.
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Published
2014-11-17
Volume
111
Issue
48
Pages
17071-17074
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1419408111
PMC
PMC4260564
OpenAlex
W2019575624
Cited by
119
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 6
FWCI
24.25
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
John Templeton Foundation
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
Keywords
altruism, reciprocity, early childhood, young children, prosocial behavior, social experience, helping behavior, social expectations, mutual care, preschool children
MeSH terms
Adult, Altruism, Child Behavior, Child Development, Psychology, Child, Child, Preschool, Cues, Female, Humans, Infant, Male, Social Behavior, Intergenerational Relations, Beneficence

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