Kids who have been shown compassionate love and empathy from their mothers might be more willing to be generous to others, a new study suggests.
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, tested children at ages 4 and 6 for their willingness to give up tokens they had earned to fictional children in need.
The initial study included 74 preschoolers and their mothers. They were invited back two years later, resulting in 54 mother-child pairs whose behaviors and reactions were analyzed when the children were 6.
“At both ages, children with better physiological regulation and with mothers who expressed stronger compassionate love were likely to donate more of their earnings,” said Paul Hastings, UC Davis professor of psychology and the mentor of the doctoral student who led the study. “Compassionate mothers likely develop emotionally close relationships with their children while also providing an early example of prosocial orientation toward the needs of others,” researchers said in the study.
During each lab exercise, the researchers attached a monitor to record the kids’ heart rates, then told them they could earn tokens by completing activities. The tokens could be exchanged for prizes. Then the children were told they could donate all or part of their tokens to other children. In the first instance, they were told the tokens would go to sick children who couldn’t come and play the game. In the second instance, they were told the children were experiencing a hardship.
At the same time, the mothers were asked about their compassionate love for their children and for others in general. The mothers selected phrases in a survey such as:
“I would rather engage in actions that help my child than engage in actions that would help me.”
“Those whom I encounter through my work and public life can assume that I will be there if they need me.”
“I would rather suffer myself than see someone else (a stranger) suffer.”
Taken together, the findings showed that children’s generosity is supported by the combination of their socialization experiences — their mothers’ compassionate love — and their physiological regulation, and that these work like “internal and external supports for the capacity to act prosocially that build on each other.”
At both ages 4 and 6, the physiological recording showed that children who donated more tokens were calmer afterward, compared to those who donated no or few tokens. The researchers wrote that “prosocial behaviors may be intrinsically effective for soothing one’s own arousal.” Hastings suggested that “being in a calmer state after sharing could reinforce the generous behavior that produced that good feeling.”
