Citation

Vaish A, Carpenter M, Tomasello M. Child Dev. 2016; 87(6): 1772-1782.

Affiliation

Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology/Duke University.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/cdev.12628

PMID

28262936

Abstract

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 reparative 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.

© 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Language: en