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Children's sensitivity to ulterior motives when evaluating prosocial behavior

Gail Heyman1, David Barner, Jennifer Heumann

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of California at San Diego.

Cognitive Science
|September 28, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Children aged 8-10 understand ulterior motives better than younger children, recognizing reputation management in social giving. This developmental shift impacts their social reasoning and judgments.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Social Cognition
  • Moral Reasoning

Background:

  • Understanding ulterior motives is crucial for social navigation.
  • Children's ability to infer hidden intentions develops over time.
  • Previous research highlights age-related differences in social judgment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate developmental changes in children's reasoning about ulterior motives.
  • To examine how children aged 6-10 perceive prosocial behavior in public versus private settings.
  • To determine the role of impression management in children's social judgments.

Main Methods:

  • Two studies involving 119 children aged 6-10 years.
  • Participants evaluated hypothetical children giving gifts in public (reputation-seeking) or private (genuine) settings.
  • Children's explanations for their judgments were analyzed.

Main Results:

  • 6- to 7-year-olds did not understand ulterior motives in public givers.
  • 8- to 10-year-olds favored private givers and were more likely to mention impression management.
  • Younger children who mentioned impression management justified favoring public givers.

Conclusions:

  • Children's understanding of ulterior motives emerges between ages 6 and 10.
  • Developmental changes in reasoning about intentions and social outcomes are key.
  • Children's ability to grasp impression management influences their social evaluations.

Keywords:
DevelopmentImpression managementIntentionMoral cognitionProsocial behaviorSocial cognition

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