Dear all,
Please see the forwarded message below for a seminar which may be of
interest to you in St Andrews next Wednesday (8th Feb) in the seminar room.
Many thanks,
Emily
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Stephen Reicher <sdr(a)st-andrews.ac.uk>
Date: 1 February 2012 09:15
Subject: FW: Extra seminar from Malinda Carpenter
To: psy-staff <psy-staff(a)st-andrews.ac.uk>uk>, Helen Sunderland <
hes1(a)st-andrews.ac.uk>gt;, psy-postg <psy-postg(a)st-andrews.ac.uk>
Dear all,
There is to be an extra seminar next Wednesday at 5pm from Malinda
Carpenter of the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig (details below). The
seminar is to be held in the Seminar Room, *not* the Old Library.
Steve
*
*
Social motivations in infants and young children: Affiliation,
alignment, and prosocial behaviour
Malinda Carpenter
Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Leipzig, Germany
Humans may be unique among animals in our social motivations, for example
in the extent to which we identify with and wish to align ourselves with
our fellow group members. I show here that these social motivations are
already present in infancy and early childhood. I present a series of
studies on imitation, affiliation, and identification, which highlight
young children’s connections with their social group and document their
early preferential treatment of in- vs. out-group members. A theme running
through many of these studies is the prevalence of * pro*social motivations
in children as well, in particular their tendency to help others. Thus I
also take some time to discuss helping in young children, for example
showing how eager children are to help others in general, but at the same
time how children’s tendency to help can be increased further, and how
(appropriately) selective children are in whom they help. I conclude that
strong social and prosocial motivations are seen already beginning in
infancy.
--
Emily. J. E. Messer
PhD Student
Scottish Primate Research Group
Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution
School of Psychology
University of St Andrews
St Marys Quad,
South Street,
St Andrews
KY16 9JP
+44 (0)1334 46 3043