Becoming Kinder: Prosocial Choice and the Development of Interpersonal  Regret

Three experiments examined children's ability to feel regret following a failure to act prosocially. In Experiment 1, ninety 6‐ to 7‐year‐olds and one hundred seven 7‐ to 9‐year‐olds were given a choice to donate a resource to another child. If they failed to donate, they discovered that this meant the other child could not win a prize. Children in both age groups then showed evidence of experiencing regret, although not in control conditions where they had not made the choice themselves or their choice did not negatively affect the other child. In Experiment 2, eighty‐five 5‐ to 6‐year‐olds and one hundred nine 7‐ to 9‐year‐olds completed the same task; only the older group showed evidence of regret. In Experiment 3, with one hundred thirty‐four 6‐ to 7‐year‐olds, experiencing regret was associated with subsequently making other prosocial choices.
Source: Child Development - Category: Child Development Authors: Tags: Empirical Article Source Type: research