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Published on: May 3, 2016
Reparative prosocial behaviors alleviate children's guilt
Meghan Rose Donohue1, Erin C Tully1
1Department of Psychology.
Developmental Psychology
|July 26, 2019
Summary
Guilt motivates children to repair harm, reducing their own guilty feelings. This study shows guilt and reparative behaviors function as expected in middle childhood, potentially preventing depression.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Moral Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Guilt theoretically motivates reparative behaviors to alleviate distress.
- Existing research supports these theories in adults, but not children.
- Causal links between guilt and reparative behaviors in children remain understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if guilt motivates reparative behaviors in children.
- To determine if reparative behaviors alleviate children's guilt.
- To examine the theoretical function of guilt in middle childhood.
Main Methods:
- 97 children aged 6-10 were randomly assigned to guilt-induction, no-guilt, or no-repair conditions.
- Participants reported guilt levels before and after a reparative opportunity.
- Reparative behaviors included giving stickers and writing a note to a peer.
Main Results:
- Children induced to feel guilty showed more reparative behavior than controls.
- Guilty children reported decreased guilt after the repair opportunity.
- Children who transgressed but could not repair did not show reduced guilt.
Conclusions:
- Guilt motivates reparative actions in middle childhood, as theorized.
- Successful reparative behaviors reduce children's feelings of guilt.
- Findings support interventions for maladaptive guilt and depression prevention.
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