Can Babies Tell Right from Wrong? Turns Out, They Are Tiny Moral Judges in Diapers!

Watch Out World—Babies Are Here to Judge Your Actions (and Look Adorable While Doing It)!

Forget ‘toddler tantrums,’ these babies are already making big decisions on kindness and fairness! (Image: Pixabay)

Published on:

13 Dec 2024, 3:15 pm

Picture this: a baby, just six months old, watching a puppet show. One puppet helps another, and the other one is a troublemaker. Without hesitation, the baby picks the helpful puppet!

You might be curious, could babies really grasp the concept of right and wrong? Well, that’s exactly what researchers at Yale’s Infant Cognition Center revealed— babies come into the world with an impressive, natural sense of morality that develops far sooner than we ever thought possible! It turns out, babies might be born with an instinctive sense of right and wrong.

Dr. Nav Singh Badesha, M.D., shared his thoughts on this mind-blowing discovery in a viral Instagram video, shedding light on how these early moral instincts could shape a more compassionate world.

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Babies Have a Built-In Sense of Morality?

Imagine thinking that babies have to be taught what’s right or wrong. But here’s the twist: they might already know.

Researchers at Yale showed that infants as young as six months are naturally drawn to helpful behavior.

In an experiment, babies watched a puppet show where one puppet helped another, and the other was mean. When given the option, the babies clearly gravitated towards the helper, choosing kindness over the troublemaker without hesitation! This is proof that babies might have an instinctual moral compass, one that doesn’t require years of learning.

According to the experiment, babies might have an instinctual moral compass, one that doesn’t require years of learning. (Image: Pixabay)

This discovery challenges everything we thought we knew about morality – it’s not just about being taught, but something that might be built into us from the very start!

Research That Shakes Things Up: Babies Are Wired for Fairness

It gets even more fascinating.

Dr. Paul Bloom, a leading psychologist at Yale, found that even babies as young as three months can grasp the concept of fairness.

In one experiment, babies watched two puppets—one that shared treats equally and another that kept all the treats for itself. Guess what happened? The babies stared longer at the unfair puppet, indicating they didn’t like unfairness! It shows that even before they can talk, babies have a deep sense of justice.

But wait—there’s more! Other studies reveal that babies as young as six months prefer kind people over those who are selfish. They’ll actually smile more at people who help others, making it clear that kindness and empathy are hardwired into their instincts.

Empathy: The Heartbeat of Early Morality

So, what’s the secret behind all this? Empathy.

Babies can feel the pain or distress of others, even though they can’t talk yet.

When a baby sees someone upset, they might frown, cry, or even try to comfort them. This emotional response isn’t learned – it’s something babies are born with. Researchers believe that empathy is the foundation of early moral decisions, helping babies choose kindness over cruelty.

When a baby sees someone upset, they might frown, cry, or even try to comfort them. (Image: Pixabay)

Think about it: a baby sees someone hurt or sad, and their natural instinct is to offer comfort. This early empathy is the core of what makes them good moral decision-makers, even before they can understand language or complex reasoning.

What Does This Mean for Us?

If babies are born with a sense of morality, it means the way we raise them matters more than ever. As parents, caregivers, and educators, we have the unique opportunity to encourage these innate moral instincts. By teaching kids to share, show kindness, and care for others, we can help shape them into adults who understand fairness, compassion, and empathy.

By teaching kids to share, show kindness, and care for others, we can help shape them into adults who understand fairness, compassion, and empathy. (Representative image: Pexels)

The best part? It doesn’t take much. Simple acts like praising cooperation, discussing fairness, and being kind ourselves can help strengthen their natural sense of morality.

Conclusion: Are We Born Good?

What if our understanding of morality is totally wrong? Maybe it’s not something we learn through years of experience, but something we’re born with.

The research shows that babies seem to have an inherent sense of what’s fair, kind, and just. This built-in moral compass could explain why, from a very young age, babies gravitate toward good actions and show empathy for others. It’s a beautiful reminder that goodness might not be something we have to teach—it’s something we’re born with.

References:

Yale Infant Cognition Center. (2011). "The Origins of Morality in Infants." Science, 332(6034), 1099-1103.
Bloom, P. (2010). How Children Learn the Meanings of Words. Yale University Press.
Hamlin, J. K., Wynn, K., & Bloom, P. (2007). "Social Evaluation by Preverbal Infants." Nature, 450(7169), 557-559.
Decety, J., & Meyer, M. (2008). "From Emotion to Empathy: The Development of a Neural Mechanism for Empathy." Psychopathology, 41(1), 26-35.
Bloom, P. (2013). "The Moral Life of Babies." The New York Times.
Sloane, S., Baillargeon, R., & Premack, D. (2012). "Can Babies Do Arithmetic?" Psychological Science, 23(12), 1473-1481.
Hamlin, J. K., & Wynn, K. (2011). "Young Infants Prefer Prosocial to Antisocial Others." Cognition, 121(3), 384-393.
Xu, F., & Garcia, E. (2008). "The Development of Preferences for Fairness." Cognitive Science, 32(6), 1085-1095.