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. 2014 Dec;18(12):613-5.
doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2014.08.004. Epub 2014 Sep 6.

Life-history theory explains childhood moral development

Mark Sheskin  1 , Coralie Chevallier  2 , Stéphane Lambert  2 , Nicolas Baumard  2
Affiliations

Life-history theory explains childhood moral development

Mark Sheskin et al. Trends Cogn Sci. 2014 Dec.

Abstract

Infants understand harm and fairness in third-party situations and yet children require years of development before they apply this understanding to their own interactions with others. We suggest that the delay is explained by a life-history analysis of when behaving morally becomes beneficial. The human species is characterized by an extended period of juvenile dependence during which cooperation with non-kin is mostly superfluous. Later, as children age, moral behaviors supporting cooperation become increasingly beneficial.

Keywords: cultural differences; development; fairness; morality; prosocial.

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