Early childhood investment impacts social decision-making four decades later

Yi Luo, Sébastien Hétu, Terry Lohrenz, Andreas Hula, Peter Dayan, Sharon Landesman Ramey, Libbie Sonnier-Netto, Jonathan Lisinski, Stephen LaConte, Tobias Nolte, Peter Fonagy, Elham Rahmani, P. Read Montague () and Craig Ramey
Additional contact information
Yi Luo: Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
Sébastien Hétu: Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
Terry Lohrenz: Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
Andreas Hula: Austrian Institute of Technology
Peter Dayan: University College London
Sharon Landesman Ramey: Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
Libbie Sonnier-Netto: Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
Jonathan Lisinski: Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
Stephen LaConte: Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
Tobias Nolte: University College London
Peter Fonagy: Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
Elham Rahmani: Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
P. Read Montague: Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
Craig Ramey: Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Early childhood educational investment produces positive effects on cognitive and non-cognitive skills, health, and socio-economic success. However, the effects of such interventions on social decision-making later in life are unknown. We recalled participants from one of the oldest randomized controlled studies of early childhood investment—the Abecedarian Project (ABC)—to participate in well-validated interactive economic games that probe social norm enforcement and planning. We show that in a repeated-play ultimatum game, ABC participants who received high-quality early interventions strongly reject unequal division of money across players (disadvantageous or advantageous) even at significant cost to themselves. Using a multi-round trust game and computational modeling of social exchange, we show that the same intervention participants also plan further into the future. These findings suggest that high quality early childhood investment can result in long-term changes in social decision-making and promote social norm enforcement in order to reap future benefits.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07138-5

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