Do 15-month-old infants prefer helpers? A replication of Hamlin et al. (2007)
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...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Royal Society
2020-04-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.191795 |
| _version_ | 1830082517117435904 |
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| author | Laura Schlingloff Gergely Csibra Denis Tatone |
| author_facet | Laura Schlingloff Gergely Csibra Denis Tatone |
| author_sort | Laura Schlingloff |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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 procedure and stimuli adopted. Alternatively, the effect size of infants’ preference may be smaller than originally estimated. The study addresses ongoing methodological debates on the replicability of influential findings in infant cognition. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T16:00:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bf672807d8444c97952366c959404e84 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T16:00:41Z |
| publishDate | 2020-04-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-bf672807d8444c97952366c959404e842022-12-21T22:55:11ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032020-04-017410.1098/rsos.191795191795Do 15-month-old infants prefer helpers? A replication of Hamlin et al. (2007)Laura SchlingloffGergely CsibraDenis TatoneHamlin 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 procedure and stimuli adopted. Alternatively, the effect size of infants’ preference may be smaller than originally estimated. The study addresses ongoing methodological debates on the replicability of influential findings in infant cognition.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.191795social evaluationinfant cognitionmanual choice paradigmmoral judgementpartner choice |
| spellingShingle | Laura Schlingloff Gergely Csibra Denis Tatone Do 15-month-old infants prefer helpers? A replication of Hamlin et al. (2007) Royal Society Open Science social evaluation infant cognition manual choice paradigm moral judgement partner choice |
| title | Do 15-month-old infants prefer helpers? A replication of Hamlin et al. (2007) |
| title_full | Do 15-month-old infants prefer helpers? A replication of Hamlin et al. (2007) |
| title_fullStr | Do 15-month-old infants prefer helpers? A replication of Hamlin et al. (2007) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do 15-month-old infants prefer helpers? A replication of Hamlin et al. (2007) |
| title_short | Do 15-month-old infants prefer helpers? A replication of Hamlin et al. (2007) |
| title_sort | do 15 month old infants prefer helpers a replication of hamlin et al 2007 |
| topic | social evaluation infant cognition manual choice paradigm moral judgement partner choice |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.191795 |
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