Impulsive Selfish and Contemplated Prosocial Behavior in Children

Cooperation is required for human beings to survive and thrive. In the past decade, to deepen the understanding of human cooperation, more attention has been paid to default prosocial behavior and calculated selfish behavior in the adult population. Whether prosocial behavior is due to an intrinsically altruistic nature or to internalized social norms remains controversial. We approached this question by examining the relationship between cognitive control and decision time, and prosocial behavior in children. We analyzed the data obtained from 226 children aged from 8 to 11 years. The results indicated that greater cognitive control and longer decision time were independently associated with promoted prosocial behavior. That is, the intuitive cooperation model of prosocial behavior established in the adult population may not be supported in children. Although cognitive control was positively associated with prosocial behavior, even children with poor cognitive control promoted prosocial behavior when they were given sufficient decision time. Our findings support the view that prosocial behaviors are automated as habits by the internalization of social norms through lived experiences, and that human beings have an intrinsically selfish nature.