Experiencing a Natural Disaster Alters Children's Altruistic Giving
Experiencing a Natural Disaster Alters Children's Altruistic Giving
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DOI：
10.1177/0956797613479975
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发表时间：
2013-09-01
影响因子：
8.2
通讯作者：
Lee, Kang
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Li, Yiyuan;Li, Hong;Lee, Kang
利他主义被认为是大规模人类社会发展的主要贡献者。然而，许多支持这一观点的证据来自于生活在太平洋和富裕环境中的个人。人类在面对逆境时是否会表现出利他主义，这是完全未知的。逆境可以说是一种常见的人类经历（如，个人悲剧、政治动荡和自然灾害）。在这里报告的研究中，我们发现经历自然灾害会影响儿童的利他主义给予。在目睹了大地震造成的灾难后，9岁的孩子变得更加无私。此外，他们越有同理心，他们给予的就越多。相比之下，经历大地震导致6岁的孩子更加自私。地震发生三年后，儿童的利他主义倾向恢复到地震前的水平，这表明儿童利他主义行为的变化是对重大自然灾害的直接反应。这些发现表明，环境侮辱和同情在人类利他主义中起着至关重要的作用。
Altruism is thought to be a major contributor to the development of large-scale human societies. However, much of the evidence supporting this belief comes from individuals living in pacific and often affluent environments. It is entirely unknown whether humans act altruistically when facing adversity. Adversity is arguably a common human experience (as manifested in, e.g., personal tragedies, political upheavals, and natural disasters). In the research reported here, we found that experiencing a natural disaster affected children's altruistic giving. Immediately after witnessing devastations caused by a major earthquake, 9-year-olds became more altruistic. In addition, the more empathic they were, the more they gave. In contrast, experiencing a major earthquake caused 6-year-olds to be more selfish. Three years after the earthquake, children's altruistic tendencies returned to pre-earthquake levels, which suggests that changes in children's altruistic giving are an acute response to the immediate aftermath of a major natural disaster. These findings suggest that environmental insults and empathy play crucial roles in human altruism.