Do 15-month-old infants prefer helpers? A replication of Hamlin et al. (2007).

ABSTRACT: Hamlin et al. found in 2007 that preverbal infants displayed a preference for helpers over hinderers. The robustness of this finding and the conditions under which infant sociomoral evaluation can be elicited has since been debated. Here, we conducted a replication of the original study, in which we tested 14- to 16-month-olds using a familiarization procedure with three-dimensional animated video stimuli. Unlike previous replication attempts, ours uniquely benefited from detailed procedural advice by Hamlin. In contrast with the original results, only 16 out of 32 infants (50%) in our study reached for the helper; thus, we were not able to replicate the findings. A possible reason for this failure is that infants' preference for prosocial agents may not be reliably elicited with the proce

SUBMITTER: Schlingloff L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7211864 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature