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Probing the strength of infants' preference for helpers over hinderers: Two replication attempts of Hamlin and Wynn (2011)
Title / Series / Name
PLoS One
Publication Volume
10
Publication Issue
11
Pages
Editors
Keywords
Multidisciplinary
Preference
Prosocial behavior
Puppetry
Developmental psychology
Population
Education
Helping behavior
Biology
Wynn
Child development
Aggression
Medicine
Preference
Prosocial behavior
Puppetry
Developmental psychology
Population
Education
Helping behavior
Biology
Wynn
Child development
Aggression
Medicine
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/12715
Abstract
Several studies indicate that infants prefer individuals who act prosocially over those who act antisocially toward unrelated third parties. In the present study, we focused on a paradigm published by Kiley Hamlin and Karen Wynn in 2011. In this study, infants were habituated to a live puppet show in which a protagonist tried to open a box to retrieve a toy placed inside. The protagonist was either helped by a second puppet (the “Helper”), or hindered by a third puppet (the “Hinderer”). At test, infants were presented with the Helper and the Hinderer, and encouraged to reach for one of them. In the original study, 75% of 9-month-olds selected the Helper, arguably demonstrating a preference for prosocial over antisocial individuals. We conducted two studies with the aim of replicating this result. Each attempt was performed by a different group of experimenters. Study 1 followed the methods of the published study as faithfully as possible. Study 2 introduced slight modifications to the stimuli and the procedure following the guidelines generously provided by Kiley Hamlin and her collaborators. Yet, in our replication attempts, 9-month-olds’ preference for helpers over hinderers did not differ significantly from chance (62.5% and 50%, respectively, in Studies 1 and 2). Two types of factors could explain why our results differed from those of Hamlin and Wynn: minor methodological dissimilarities (in procedure, materials, or the population tested), or the effect size being smaller than originally assumed. We conclude that fine methodological details that are crucial to infants’ success in this task need to be identified to ensure the replicability of the original result.
Topic
Publisher
Place of Publication
Type
Journal article
Date
2015
Language
ISBN
Identifiers
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0140570