A scientific study suggests that altruistic character of people appears at 18 months of age. The study conducted in Germany by psychologist Felix Warneken, of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, was published in the journal Science.
After a simple experiment conducted by Warneken, in which he performed daily tasks in front of a group of babies, at one point he dropped an object from his hands, to which one of the children reacted by crawling to the object, taking it in his hands and giving it to the psychologist. He neither asked for it nor thanked him, in order not to alter the investigation.
This situation happened during the study over and over again, the children responded in the same way in a few seconds, every time they had the feeling that the doctor needed them, they came to approach the object that had "fallen". But if it was the doctor who deliberately threw it, the children did not offer their help. The desire to maintain social relations and the cognitive ability to understand other people's objects, usually arises over 18 months and is part of the development of wanting to help without expecting anything in return.
Surely many of you have experienced a similar situation with your little one, and it would be very interesting if you shared it.
