A recent study shows that very young children have a more developed moral calculus than we’ve perhaps previously thought. It came to our attention through a recent report in the New York Times (and its follow-ups).
Young children used to be seen as oblivious to the world of values and rules, and as focused entirely on their own interests. But recent research has uncovered a wonderful richness of toddlers’ and preschoolers’ early conscience. We now know that young children are capable of a broad range of moral emotions, of rule-compliant, self-regulated behavior, and of moral understanding.
Specifically, guilt — yes, guilt! — is found to have important social uses.
“Children respond with acute and intense tension and negative emotions when they are tempted to misbehave, or even anticipate violating norms and rules,” Dr. Kochanska said. “They remember, often subconsciously, how awful they have felt in the past.”
In Dr. Kochanska’s latest studies, published in the August issue of The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, she and colleagues found that 2-year-olds who showed more chagrin during the broken-toy experiment went on to have fewer behavioral problems over the next five years. That was true even for the ones who scored low on tests measuring their ability to focus on tasks and suppress strong desires to act impulsively.
Sounds pretty darn useful, eh?
But what do you suppose this does to self-esteem?
The original NYT report: Guilt and Atonement on the Path to Adulthood
The follow-up: Guilt Your Children Well?
Second follow-up: The Broken-Toy Experiment