Adults Are More Generous In The Presence Of Children | New Research | Psychology | Psychology Articles

Adults Are More Generous In The Presence Of Children – New Research

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Most of us feel that we are more compassionate towards children than older ones. Previous research has confirmed this notion, showing that we care more about children, and that this effect can be very helpful and sympathetic for adults facing a child.

But no work has been done to check if having children usually encourages them to be kind and helpful - it affects us to be kinder to other adults or to give more to charity. is.

Our latest research is set to help us understand when we are around children, or when we think about them - defined as behaving in a way that benefits others - Whether we are motivated to be more social.

Eight trials and a large field study with more than 2,000 participants found that adults are more lenient and compassionate when they have children - we recommend initiatives such as the "Children's Parliament", aimed at children with traditional adults Familiarization with the location, and one is a profound influence on adult decision making throughout the community. .

Feelings and children

We know that children instill strong feelings in us, especially when it comes to pain. For example, some images, such as the photo of Aylan Kurti, a boy killed on a beach in Turkey during the 2015 Syrian migration crisis, have aroused international sympathy.

In fact, sympathy for the Kurdish situation has led to widespread concern and solidarity among refugees, greater social media participation, a 100-fold increase in donations to help Syrian refugees, and new government policies to move more than 150,000 refugees Has

Read more: Can a horror film change the direction of humanitarian crisis?

In some ways, the power of this single image is not surprising. Companies advocating for the poor and the weak have long suspected that they could increase interest and support by placing children in front of them at the center of their campaigns. For example, children are involved in charitable donations, environmental protection and healthy living campaigns. These campaigns revealed the widespread belief that children evoke a sympathetic response to adults.

Sympathy will increase

In our experiments, we wanted to find out if the emotional impact of children's motivation goes beyond our perceptions of children and the wider world. To encourage adult participants to think about children, we asked them to describe how regular children look (eg, their appearance and regular behavior). Participants in the control conditions described by regular adults or left this task.

Participants who asked us to describe the children later reported an increase in social motivation. Namely, they expressed a greater desire to achieve broader social goals such as helping others, social justice, and protecting the environment. Participants expressed greater sympathy for the plight of other adults after thinking about children.

Read more: Intestinal screening: Researchers develop ethical and sympathetic decision-making measures

In a field study built on these findings, we found that adults on a shopping street donate to a charity that supports arthritis when most children are close relatives of adults.

When there are no children, we make one donation every ten minutes because the passers-by are all adults. But when children and adults are the same on a shopping street, this number doubles every ten minutes.

These effects cannot be measured with too many legs during busy times or whether the donor is with the child. Instead, they suggested that having children may encourage adults to give more often, even if the donation is not specifically associated with children.

Throughout the study, thinking about children or having children revealed greater empathy for many individuals than others: parents and non-parents, men and women, younger and older participants. - Even for people with relatively negative behavior towards children. The findings therefore point to a far-reaching effect that has a profound and far-reaching impact on society.

Adult environment only

Our research provides an overview of the big picture. Children are often isolated from adult contexts, such as the workplace and the political system, where important decisions are taken that affect children's lives - for example, the changing climate.

Wearing the clothes of three children as workers in an office in a traditional adult space would benefit people of all ages. Powell L. Photo and Video / Shutterstock

Our findings suggest that society needs to consider several ways to involve children in different aspects of life. For example, a clear consideration of the impact on children in political and legislative systems can promote appropriate decisions taking into account the needs and rights of children and future generations.

In recent years a number of initiatives have placed additional emphasis on children's voices, including the UK's "Children's Parliament" and the Global School Climate Strike in 2019, in which 1.4 million children participated. Our research suggests that such initiatives not only provide a clear and significant benefit to children, but also create a process orientation for a broader society that benefits all.