Some say that compassion, kindness and caring are our true nature.The instinct to help, to steady the ladder, to be there when we are needed,to do so without so much as a thought for ourselves may arise from deep within the seed of our being.
In an article a few years ago one researcher discovered what turned out to be a predictable response from very young children.
Oops, the scientist dropped
his clothespin.
Not to worry — a wobbly toddler raced to help, eagerly handing it back.
The simple experiment shows the capacity for altruism emerges
as early as 18 months of age.
Psychology researcher Felix Warneken of Germany’s
Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology
performed a series of ordinary tasks in front of toddlers,
such as hanging towels with clothespins or stacking books.
Sometimes he “struggled” with the tasks; sometimes he deliberately messed up.
Over and over, whether Warneken dropped clothespins or knocked over his books,
each of 24 toddlers offered help within seconds — but only if he appeared to
need it.
Video shows how one overall-clad baby glanced between Warneken’s face
and the dropped clothespin 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
— the toddlers didn’t bother to offer help when he deliberately
pulled a book off the stack or threw a pin to the floor,
~ Felix Warneken
