Environmental morality is the foundation of a sustainable future, yet its ontogenetic origin remains unknown. In the present study, we asked whether 7-month-olds have a sense of ‘environmental morality’. Infants’ evaluations of two pro-environmental actions were assessed in both visual and reaching preferential tasks. In Experiment 1, the overt behavior of protecting (i.e., collecting artificial objects spread on a lawn) was compared with the action of harming the environment (i.e., by disregarding the objects). In Experiment 2, the covert behavior of protecting the environment (i.e., maintaining artificial objects inside a container) was compared with the action of harming the environment (i.e., littering the artificial objects on a lawn). The results showed infants’ reaching preference for the agent who performed overt pro-environmental actions (Experiment 1), and no preference for the agent who performed covert pro-environmental actions (Experiment 2). These findings reveal a rudimentary ecological sense and suggest that infants require different abilities to evaluate overt impact-oriented and covert intend-oriented pro-environmental behaviors.

Evaluations of pro-environmental behaviors by 7-month-old infants / Geraci, Alessandra; Franchin, Laura; Benavides-Varela, Silvia. - In: INFANT BEHAVIOR & DEVELOPMENT. - ISSN 1879-0453. - 72:(2023), p. 101865. [10.1016/j.infbeh.2023.101865]

Evaluations of pro-environmental behaviors by 7-month-old infants

Geraci, Alessandra;Franchin, Laura;
2023-01-01

Abstract

Environmental morality is the foundation of a sustainable future, yet its ontogenetic origin remains unknown. In the present study, we asked whether 7-month-olds have a sense of ‘environmental morality’. Infants’ evaluations of two pro-environmental actions were assessed in both visual and reaching preferential tasks. In Experiment 1, the overt behavior of protecting (i.e., collecting artificial objects spread on a lawn) was compared with the action of harming the environment (i.e., by disregarding the objects). In Experiment 2, the covert behavior of protecting the environment (i.e., maintaining artificial objects inside a container) was compared with the action of harming the environment (i.e., littering the artificial objects on a lawn). The results showed infants’ reaching preference for the agent who performed overt pro-environmental actions (Experiment 1), and no preference for the agent who performed covert pro-environmental actions (Experiment 2). These findings reveal a rudimentary ecological sense and suggest that infants require different abilities to evaluate overt impact-oriented and covert intend-oriented pro-environmental behaviors.
2023
Geraci, Alessandra; Franchin, Laura; Benavides-Varela, Silvia
Evaluations of pro-environmental behaviors by 7-month-old infants / Geraci, Alessandra; Franchin, Laura; Benavides-Varela, Silvia. - In: INFANT BEHAVIOR & DEVELOPMENT. - ISSN 1879-0453. - 72:(2023), p. 101865. [10.1016/j.infbeh.2023.101865]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11572/392111
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