2-047 - The perils of generosity?

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Everyday life abounds with examples of generosity being lauded, from elementary schools that award students certificates when they are “caught being good” to news reports that praise philanthropists for their charitable contributions. Generosity is admired universally, and from very early in life; indeed, the Bible considers it to be one of the most important heavenly virtues. This symposium brings together cutting-edge developmental research from a variety of labs that converges on a common, albeit surprising, conclusion: Generosity may be one of the heavenly virtues, but even in childhood, it may be a mixed blessing.

Talk 1 provides evidence that, while it pays to be nice, it does not pay to be nicer: Children judge equitable actions more favorably than selfish actions, but they do not judge selfless actions more favorably than equitable ones. Talk 2 demonstrates that in both the United States and China children learn that acts of giving can be motivated by self-interest rather than by a genuine desire to help. Finally, Talk 3 illustrates the social costs of generosity: By middle childhood, coming up short in comparison with a peer can decrease children’s liking for a generous individual.

Together, these talks demonstrate a new level of sophistication in early social cognition and break new ground by identifying a new approach to studying children’s moral understanding and behavior.

Sub Unit

• Moral Development

Chair

• Arber Tasimi, Yale University

Discussant

• Paul Bloom, Yale University

Individual Presentations

• Asymmetric evaluations of selfish and selfless acts emerge early in life - Presenting Author: Jasmine M. DeJesus, University of Chicago, University of Michigan; Nadav Klein, University of Chicago; Katherine Kinzler, Cornell University; Nicholas Epley, University of Chicago

• Children’s evaluations of generous behavior - Presenting Author: Haleh Yazdi, University of California, San Diego; David Barner, University of California San Diego; Gail D Heyman, University of California, San Diego

• Do-gooder derogation in children: The social costs of generosity - Presenting Author: Arber Tasimi, Yale University; Amy Dominguez, University of Denver; Karen Wynn, Yale University