Babies Are Cool

AP:

Any parent can relate tales of a wobbly toddler's endearing desire to help out. Now scientists have documented it, in a study suggesting that the capacity for altruism emerges as early as 18 months of age.

It was a simple experiment to illustrate fairly sophisticated brain development: Tots watched as psychology researcher Felix Warneken did ordinary tasks, such as using clothespins to hang some towels.

Oops, he dropped a clothespin. Video shows one overall-clad baby glancing between Warneken's face and the dropped pin before quickly crawling over, grabbing the object, pushing up to his feet and eagerly handing back the pin.

Warneken never asked for the help and didn't even say "thank you," so as not to taint the research by training youngsters to expect praise if they helped. After all, altruism means helping with no expectation of anything in return.

Over and over, whether Warneken dropped clothespins or knocked over a stack of books or lost a marker he was going to write with, each of 24 toddlers repeatedly helped within seconds — but only if it looked like Warneken needed it.

That was the key: The toddlers offered no help when he deliberately pulled a book off the stack or threw a marker on the floor, Warneken, of Germany's Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology, reports in Thursday's edition of the journal Science.

To be altruistic, babies must have the cognitive ability to understand other people's goals plus possess what Warneken calls "pro-social motivation" — a desire to socialize.

We have two accidental "commands" in our household: 'help' and 'oops'.  Cairo started the whole thing when she figured out that when a human in the kitchen said 'oops', it usually meant some food was on the floor and she would 'help' clean it up.  Mex is learning the words now.  Somehow I don't think dogs are being altruistic in this situation...

ntodd