What You Want Versus What's Good for You: Paternalistic Motivation in Children's Helping Behavior

Alia Martin; Kelsey Lin; Kristina R. Olson

doi:10.1111/cdev.12637

What You Want Versus What's Good for You: Paternalistic Motivation in Children's Helping Behavior

Alia Martin, Kelsey Lin, Kristina R. Olson

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Children help others to complete their goals. Yet adults are sometimes motivated to help others in a “paternalistic” way, overriding a recipient's desires if they conflict with the recipient's best interests. Experiments investigated whether 5-year-olds (n = 100) consider a recipient's desire, and the consequences of fulfilling this desire, when helping. Children overrode a request for chocolate in favor of giving fruit snacks, if chocolate would make the recipient sick. Children did not override a request for chocolate in favor of carrots, even if chocolate would make the recipient sick, but they gave carrots if the recipient requested them. By age 5, children balance different motivations when helping, considering the recipient's desires, consequences of fulfilling them, and alternative forms of helping available.

Original language	American English
Pages (from-to)	1739-1746
Number of pages	8
Journal	Child development
Volume	87
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12637
State	Published - Nov 1 2016
Externally published	Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Education
Developmental and Educational Psychology
Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health

Access to Document

10.1111/cdev.12637

Cite this

@article{7810be14d49341399b31b2aa45e85373,

title = "What You Want Versus What's Good for You: Paternalistic Motivation in Children's Helping Behavior",

abstract = "Children help others to complete their goals. Yet adults are sometimes motivated to help others in a “paternalistic” way, overriding a recipient's desires if they conflict with the recipient's best interests. Experiments investigated whether 5-year-olds (n = 100) consider a recipient's desire, and the consequences of fulfilling this desire, when helping. Children overrode a request for chocolate in favor of giving fruit snacks, if chocolate would make the recipient sick. Children did not override a request for chocolate in favor of carrots, even if chocolate would make the recipient sick, but they gave carrots if the recipient requested them. By age 5, children balance different motivations when helping, considering the recipient's desires, consequences of fulfilling them, and alternative forms of helping available.",

author = "Alia Martin and Kelsey Lin and Olson, {Kristina R.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2016 The Authors. Child Development {\textcopyright} 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.",

year = "2016",

month = nov,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1111/cdev.12637",

language = "American English",

volume = "87",

pages = "1739--1746",

journal = "Child development",

issn = "0009-3920",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",

number = "6",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - What You Want Versus What's Good for You

T2 - Paternalistic Motivation in Children's Helping Behavior

AU - Martin, Alia

AU - Lin, Kelsey

AU - Olson, Kristina R.

PY - 2016/11/1

Y1 - 2016/11/1

N2 - Children help others to complete their goals. Yet adults are sometimes motivated to help others in a “paternalistic” way, overriding a recipient's desires if they conflict with the recipient's best interests. Experiments investigated whether 5-year-olds (n = 100) consider a recipient's desire, and the consequences of fulfilling this desire, when helping. Children overrode a request for chocolate in favor of giving fruit snacks, if chocolate would make the recipient sick. Children did not override a request for chocolate in favor of carrots, even if chocolate would make the recipient sick, but they gave carrots if the recipient requested them. By age 5, children balance different motivations when helping, considering the recipient's desires, consequences of fulfilling them, and alternative forms of helping available.

AB - Children help others to complete their goals. Yet adults are sometimes motivated to help others in a “paternalistic” way, overriding a recipient's desires if they conflict with the recipient's best interests. Experiments investigated whether 5-year-olds (n = 100) consider a recipient's desire, and the consequences of fulfilling this desire, when helping. Children overrode a request for chocolate in favor of giving fruit snacks, if chocolate would make the recipient sick. Children did not override a request for chocolate in favor of carrots, even if chocolate would make the recipient sick, but they gave carrots if the recipient requested them. By age 5, children balance different motivations when helping, considering the recipient's desires, consequences of fulfilling them, and alternative forms of helping available.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84994228690&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84994228690&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/cdev.12637

DO - 10.1111/cdev.12637

M3 - Article

C2 - 28262928

SN - 0009-3920

VL - 87

SP - 1739

EP - 1746

JO - Child development

JF - Child development

IS - 6

ER -

What You Want Versus What's Good for You: Paternalistic Motivation in Children's Helping Behavior

Abstract

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this