The Early Emergence of Guilt-Motivated Prosocial Behavior

Guilt serves vital prosocial functions: It motivates transgressors to make amends, thus restoring damaged relationships. Previous developmental research on guilt has not clearly distinguished it from sympathy for a victim or a tendency to repair damage in general. The authors tested 2- and 3-year-ol...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child development 2016-11, Vol.87 (6), p.1772-1782
Main Authors: Vaish, Amrisha, Carpenter, Malinda, Tomasello, Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Differences
Age Factors
Antisocial Behavior
Behavioral psychology
Child Behavior - psychology
Child development
Child psychology
Child, Preschool
Emotions
Empathy - physiology
Female
Guilt
Humans
Male
Motivation
Prosocial Behavior
Psychological Patterns
Responses
Social Behavior
SPECIAL SECTION
Young Children
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Summary:Guilt serves vital prosocial functions: It motivates transgressors to make amends, thus restoring damaged relationships. Previous developmental research on guilt has not clearly distinguished it from sympathy for a victim or a tendency to repair damage in general. The authors tested 2- and 3-year-old children (N = 62 and 64, respectively) in a 2 × 2 design, varying whether or not a mishap caused harm to someone and whether children themselves caused that mishap. Three-year-olds showed greatest repara rive behavior when they had caused the mishap and it caused harm, thus showing a specific effect of guilt. Two-year-olds repaired more whenever harm was caused, no matter by whom, thus showing only an effect of sympathy. Guilt as a distinct motivator of prosocial behavior thus emerges by at least 3 years.
ISSN:0009-3920
1467-8624
DOI:10.1111/cdev.12628