The Roots of Moral Reasoning and Behavior in Infants
Title
The Roots of Moral Reasoning and Behavior in Infants
Author
Kiley Hamlin, J.
Steckler, Conor M.
Research Area
Development
Topic
Moral Development
Abstract
Recent findings suggest that toddlers and infants engage in prosocial behaviors and evaluate potential social partners based on their morally relevant social acts. Together, this evidence suggests that some foundational aspects of human morality may stem from universal and unlearned features of the human mind. That is, despite the clear role of learning processes in much of moral development, basic motivations to cooperate with and help others, as well as an ability to judge third parties based on their prosocial and antisocial acts, may underlie and constrain those processes. Here, we review the current state of the literature on these topics and point to important remaining issues and future directions.