Young kids more generous when being watched

Children as young as five-years-old are only generous when they are being watched, Daily Mail reports a study. Children make strategic decisions about when to behave generously and researchers found that they are generous when others are aware of their actions but antisocial others cannot see them. The study by Yale University found for the first time that, just like adults, children behave in ways that enhance their reputation when they are being watched but not in private. Researchers led by Kristin Leimgruber presented five-year-olds with stickers and gave them the option of sharing one or four stickers with another child the same age. They found children were more generous when they could see the recipient than when the recipient was hidden from view. They were also more generous when they had to give stickers in a transparent container rather than an opaque one, meaning the recipient could see what they were receiving. Researchers also found that the behaviour was independent of how many stickers the children were given to keep for themselves. daily times monitor

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