Social evaluation by preverbal infants

J. Kiley Hamlin (), Karen Wynn () and Paul Bloom
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J. Kiley Hamlin: Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8205, USA
Karen Wynn: Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8205, USA
Paul Bloom: Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8205, USA

Nature, 2007, vol. 450, issue 7169, 557-559

Abstract: Morality starts young The key to successful social interactions is the ability to assess others' intentions — be they friend or foe. A new study in 6- and 10-month-old infants shows that humans engage in social evaluations even earlier than was thought, before they can use language. The infants could evaluate actors on the basis of their social acts — they were drawn towards an individual who helps an unrelated third party to achieve his or her goal, and they avoided an individual who hinders a third party's efforts to achieve a goal. The findings support the claim that precursors to adult-like social evaluation are present even in babies. This skill could be a biological adaptation that may also serve as the foundation for moral thought and action later in life.

Date: 2007
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DOI: 10.1038/nature06288

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