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Published on: April 6, 2018
Young children mostly keep, and expect others to keep, their promises
Patricia Kanngiesser1, Bahar Köymen2, Michael Tomasello3
1Faculty of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 01403 Leipzig, Germany.
Young children understand the importance of promises. Both 3- and 5-year-olds expect others to keep promises and feel obligated to keep their own, especially in prosocial situations.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Moral Development
- Social Cognition
Background:
- Promises establish social expectations and obligations.
- Understanding the normative force of promises is crucial for social interactions.
- Previous research has not fully explored young children's comprehension of promise norms in prosocial contexts.
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