When my children were born, I held with Thomas Sowell's view that "Each new
generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little
barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late." Practical
experience as a parent has only confirmed this view. Now a psychological
study provides evidence that babies may look innocent, but aren't:
A
University of B.C.-led psychology study found that infants as young as
nine-months-old embrace those who pick on individuals who don’t share
their preferences.
Study lead author Kiley Hamlin said the
findings reveal that babies are constantly busy assessing their
surroundings, trying to determine who their friends and enemies are.
[...]
The youngsters were then shown a puppet show where the
character demonstrated the same food preference as the baby. Another
puppet demonstrated the opposite preference.
The puppets harmed, helped or acted neutrally towards the puppets with different or similar food preferences.
Results
showed that the babies far preferred the puppets who harmed the puppet
with the opposite food preferences to their own. One baby even planted a
kiss on the puppet she liked. [...]
Hamlin said the
findings suggest that babies feel something like schaudenfreude, a
German term describing the pleasure experienced when someone you dislike
or consider threatening experiences harm.
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