Work

Intuitions about prosocial backfiring: Four to seven-year olds’ understanding of when helping might cause offense

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Children are attuned to prosocial behavior from early in development and engage in helpful and cooperative behaviors. However, helping is not always helpful. Decades of research has shown that unsolicited offers of help can threaten the self-esteem of recipients, especially to the degree that recipients perceive themselves as competent. We know that young children view helping positively and appreciate the benefits of helpful actions. To what extent are they also aware of possible harms? Are young children aware that unsolicited offers of help may upset others, especially to the degree that the intended beneficiary is able to perform the task alone? Here, we show that both older (N= 30, mean: 7.02; range 6- 7.97) and younger (N= 30, mean: 4.95; range 4.02-6) children understand that unsolicited offers of help are more likely to upset high than low competent recipients.

Source: eScholarship (California Digital Library)

DOI: 10.48448/emqw-cd90

Authors: Cognitive Science Society 2025, Parece, Kiera, Schulz, Laura, Ullman, Tomer D.

Institutions: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University

Language: English

Topic: Child and Animal Learning Development

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W7154635507

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