THE EMOTIONAL BENEFITS OF
Transcript of THE EMOTIONAL BENEFITS OF
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?
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)
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
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