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So many parents worry about instilling a sense of justice in their children, but a new study shows that even before they learn to walk and talk, babies are willing to side with the good guys who stand up to bullies and protect victims. Sure, it?s still important to teach your kids all those good values, but you can rest assured that they come into the world primed to be benevolent little beings ? babies are born good.
The study, which was based in Kyoto, showed six-month-old and 10-month-old infants animations of a Pac-Man-like geometric character aggressively chasing and bumping into another character. In some of the animations, a third character observed the ?bullying? behaviour; in others, the third character fled. In the last scenario, a different third character intervened, superhero-like, ?protecting? the victimized character. After the animations were over, the researchers from Kyoto University gave the babies the chance to choose from real-life versions of the characters, and the babies showed a preference for the intervening ?hero? character.
Though even six-month-olds preferred the protective figures overall, 10-month-old babies were especially likely to side with these justice fighters. They could also distinguish between intentional intervention and accidental heroics. Researchers concluded that, ?Six-month-olds regarded the interfering agent to be protecting the victim from the aggressor, but only the older infants af...