Award Abstract # 1253676
CAREER: The Developmental Origins of Human Cooperation

NSF Org: BCS
Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences
Recipient: PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE
Initial Amendment Date: June 12, 2013
Latest Amendment Date: September 6, 2016
Award Number: 1253676
Award Instrument: Continuing Grant
Program Manager: Chalandra Bryant
BCS
 Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences
SBE
 Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
Start Date: June 15, 2013
End Date: April 30, 2018 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $650,617.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $650,617.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2013 = $133,476.00
FY 2014 = $136,785.00

FY 2015 = $136,689.00

FY 2016 = $50,801.00
History of Investigator:
  • Felix Warneken (Principal Investigator)
    warneken@umich.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Harvard University
1033 MASSACHUSETTS AVE STE 3
CAMBRIDGE
MA  US  02138-5366
(617)495-5501
Sponsor Congressional District: 05
Primary Place of Performance: Harvard University Psychology Department
33 Kirkland Street Rm 1320
Cambridge
MA  US  02138-2044
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
05
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): LN53LCFJFL45
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): Social Psychology,
DS -Developmental Sciences
Primary Program Source: 01001314DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
01001415DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT

01001516DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT

01001617DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 1045, 1332, 1698
Program Element Code(s): 133200, 169800
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.075

ABSTRACT

Humans share valuable resources, assist others who need help, and work together in teams to produce outcomes that lie beyond the capabilities of any one individual. Yet the origins of these cooperative abilities are a puzzle. Other species do not seem to engage in similar behaviors--indeed, humans have been characterized as a hyper-cooperative primate. One way to address why humans show these cooperative patterns is to examine how young children acquire these skills. Are young children initially selfish, and must be taught to become altruistic? Or do humans have a biological predisposition for altruism that even children exhibit? How do children learn to share a common resource and acquire ideas about fairness? With support of a NSF CAREER award, Dr. Felix Warneken (Harvard University) will conduct a comprehensive developmental study of children's cooperative behaviors.

This research aims to investigate the fundamental psychological processes that enable young children to cooperate with others. How do children detect that another person is in need? Under what circumstances are they motivated to help? By using experimental studies of young children, this research can address important questions about the interplay of biological predispositions found early in development and the socialization practices that influence the further development of these behaviors. In particular, the research will investigate when social expectations and norms that characterize cooperative behaviors in adults begin to play a role in child development. For example, adults often expect others to reciprocate favors and have norms about what constitutes a fair share of a valuable resource. Therefore, this research is to determine when during development children begin to attend to these norms when they cooperate with others. By integrating insights from evolutionary theory, social psychology, and child development, this project provides a comprehensive study of the skill-set for cooperation that children acquire across development. In addition, this research program will provide a wide range of training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in developmental psychology, including active participation of students in research, and a summer internship program with stipends for undergraduate students from underrepresented groups. It will also educate the broader public about psychological research through freely available educational material about the research projects for classroom instructors and the greater public.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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McAuliffe, K., Blake, P. R., Steinbeis, N., & Warneken, F. "The developmental foundations of human fairness" Nature Human Behaviour , v.1 , 2017 10.1038/s41562-016-0042
Warneken, F. "Insights into the biological foundation of human altruistic sentiments" Current Opinion in Psychology , v.7 , 2016 10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.07.013
Warneken, F. "Precocious prosociality ? why do young children help?" Child Development Perspectives , 2015
Warneken, F. "Precocious prosociality: Why do young children help?" Child Development Perspectives , v.9 , 2015 10.1111/cdep.12101

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