Evaluations of pro-environmental behaviours in preschool age

This research explored early ecological-moral sense, by investigating 2.5- and 5-year-old children’s evaluations of overt and covert pro-environmental actions using both rewarding and reaching paradigms (N = 96; 100% White). In Experiment 1, the overt pro-environmental action was compared with the action of harming the environment. In Experiment 2, the covert pro-environmental action was compared with the action of harming the environment. The results showed a reaching preference for the agent that performed overt pro-environmental behaviours only in older children, and a tendency to reward it in both age groups (Experiment 1). No preference for the agent that displayed covert pro-environmental behaviours or a tendency to reward it was found in all children (Experiment 2). These findings demonstrate an age-increased environmental morality.