Altruism plasticity in children: a case study from an embodied approach

MARIANA LOZADA; PAOLA D'ADAMO; NATALIA CARRO

Cordoba

Congreso; XXVII Congreso de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencias; 2012

Human altruism is a prosocial behaviour which emerges at early stages, develops throughout life and is greatly affected by social contexts. The aim of this preliminary study was to evaluate the plasticity of altruistic behavior in 6-7 year olds, analyzing the effects of a short intervention performed in a public school in Bariloche, Argentina. The research involved 41 participants in 10 weekly sessions. The intervention included mindfulness practices, cooperative games and emotional security priming. The results showed that altruism among peers significantly increased after the intervention in the experimental group, whereas in the control group no change was observed. Interestingly, mindfulness practice performance improved throughout the intervention period. Aggressive behaviour was significantly lower in the experimental than in the control group, boys being significantly more aggressive than girls in the latter group. This research indicates that experiences of collaborating, feeling emotional security and attaining moments of mindfulness favored the emergence of intrinsic altruism beyond reputation and reciprocation. These results are in line with our hypothesis that altruism is an embodied and situated human capacity, highly susceptible to social influence.