Prosocial Choices: How Do Young Children Evaluate (In)Considerate Behavior?
Adults often act considerately towards others by, for example, leaving the last cookie on a plate or by stepping aside on a busy sidewalk. What do young children infer from such considerate behavior? In two preregistered studies, we assess how young children evaluate (in)considerate behavior by showing them animated videos in which targets make decisions that either leave or limit choice options for others. Specifically, in the videos one target decides to pick a unique object (e.g., picking the only toy boat) and therefore leaves no choice for someone else to pick that object. In contrast, the other target leaves a choice for someone else by picking a non-unique object (e.g., picking a toy train of which there are three). Study 1 (N = 372 6-to-12 year old children) showed that with age children evaluate considerate others (i.e., who leave a choice for others) as nicer and more trustworthy than inconsiderate others (i.e., who do not leave a choice for others). Moreover, children’s evaluations were specific to the social domain, as children of all ages evaluated both targets as equally smart. Study 2 (N = 99) focused on younger children (5-to-7-year-olds) and showed that when videos were presented in a simpler manner they also evaluated considerate people as nicer. These studies extend developmental research on prosocial behavior and suggest that considerate behavior conveys a clear social signal early in life.