Journal Identification = NRP Article Identification = 0626 Date: June 16, 2021 Time: 2:35 pm
doi:10.1684/nrp.2021.0626
REVUE DE NEUROPSYCHOLOGIE
NEUROSCIENCES COGNITIVES ET CLINIQUES
24
Point of view
Rev Neuropsychol
2020 ; 12 (S1) : 24-6
The effect of an extraordinary context
on altruism in children *
Effet d’une situation extraordinaire sur le comportement altruiste de l’enfant
Lucie Rose1,2, Klara Kovarski1,2, Florent Caetta1,2, Sylvie Chokron1,2
1Institut de Neuropsychologie, Neurovision et Neurocognition, Fondation ophtalmologique A. de Rothschild, Paris
2Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center (CNRS – UMR 8002) & Université de Paris
To cite this article: Rose L, Kovarski K, Caetta F, Chokron S. The effect of an extraordinary context on altruism in chil- dren. Rev Neuropsychol2020;12(S1):24-6 doi:10.1684/nrp.2021.0626
Introduction
For the past two decades, an array of studies has focused on the development of empathy, prosociality, and altruism in children in typical peacetime contexts in the absence of conflict or crisis. However, from an evolutionary point of view, it is important to consider how humans interact in hostile situations in a natural setting, far from in-laboratory experimental designs.
Whether directly related or unrelated to human activ- ity (wars, natural disasters, diseases, etc.), crisis situations seem to encourage cooperation among individuals [1-3].
Research highlights that in the midst of dangerous events, adults display empathy and cooperation[4, 5]. Specifically, in situations of imminent and severe danger, helping behav- iors directed towards strangers have been described[1, 6]. A study conducted with victims in the London transportation bombings of 2005 found that victims displayed spontaneous prosocial and helping behavior towards other victims, with fewer selfish acts [6]. In similar fashion, victims of the 2015 Paris attacks at Bataclan concert hall initiated helping and cooperative behavior, suggesting that a rapid affilia- tion mechanism is triggered even in intensely dangerous conditions [1]. More rarely, research has focused on the behavior of younger individuals[7]and has found that var- ious illustrations of altruism arise in children in extreme circumstances even though altruism and prosocial behav- ior are still developing at this age. Altruistic reactions vary depending on the direct or indirect nature of an event, and the child’s personal involvement in an extreme situation.
∗This article is an English language translation of the following article:
Rose L, Kovarski K, Caetta F, Chokron S. Effet d’une situation extraor- dinaire sur le comportement altruiste de l’enfant.Rev Neuropsychol 2020 ; 12(2) : 140-2. doi:10.1684/nrp.2020.0552.
Correspondence:
S. Chokron
Understandably, a child’s behavior will differ if they are a direct victim of a situation (in a natural disaster, for example) or if they were indirect observers of traumatizing situations that affected those around them (9/11 in the United States, or November 13, 2015 in France are some examples).
In the laboratory setting of experimental psychology, different methods are used to investigate prosociality and altruistic motivation. The dictator game is a widely used paradigm that involves simulated distribution of resources by a participant and allows researchers to measure levels of cooperation and altruism. A recent study implemented this design to highlight how 6-year-old children reported more selfishness following the Chinese Sichuan earthquakes of 2008, whereas 9-year-old children displayed more altruistic behavior[3]. In addition to these observations, researchers also found that the children with highest baseline levels of empathy were those who acted most altruistically after the earthquakes, suggesting that context (e.g. natural disasters) can increase personal dispositions.
Socioeconomic factors including level of education, culture, and age also have an impact on prosocial behav- iors as they affect a child’s ongoing interactions[7-9]. It is difficult to establish whether extreme situations have long- term consequences on these behaviors. The aforementioned study on earthquake victims found that three years after a natural disaster, altruistic behavior returned to baseline levels[3]. This suggests that an increase in prosocial and helping behavior may serve for a specific period of time immediately following the onset of a dangerous situation (for a similar study in adults see[2]). The type of danger experienced and its unexpectedness, its timeline, the way in which it personally affects a child and their family, as well as the social, geographical and political context all make it par- ticularly difficult to compare the various studies in this field [2]. Other extreme contexts beyond natural disasters and situations of imminent danger can affect human behavior.
The unprecedented pandemic that affects the world today also impacts prosocial behavior.
Journal Identification = NRP Article Identification = 0626 Date: June 16, 2021 Time: 2:35 pm
REVUE DE NEUROPSYCHOLOGIE
NEUROSCIENCES COGNITIVES ET CLINIQUES
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Point of view
Lockdown measures during the Covid-19 pandemic
A wave of lockdowns began throughout the world in January 2020, affecting France in March 2020, with strict measures implemented to slow the spread of the SARS-CoV- 2 virus. Over three billion humans including millions of French residents were required to shelter in place in their homes and adapt their daily routine. This situation in the face of imminent yet invisible danger is unprecedented in its social consequences. Individuals in the same lockdown all had to comply with the same measures, yet the magnitude of actual danger differed among individuals due to a number of personal and family factors.
Every angle of daily life was affected, from profes- sional schedules to social life, mealtimes, physical activity, planning short and long-term projects, and well-being.
Adults were asked to work from home when possible, and children’s schools closed, replaced by distance learn- ing when children had the technical and human means to do so (e.g. access to a computer, internet connection, help from adults). Psychological difficulties including signs of depression and anxiety have emerged from this con- text [10, 11], yet this time has also seen the onset of prosocial and altruistic actions (see [12] on the sense of affiliation).
Given the limited social and physical contact with oth- ers during this period, feelings of group belonging and the human need for interaction and communication took shape in online image and video sharing (see[13]) as well as more direct community behaviors (e.g. concerts from apartment windows in Italy and clapping for carers in the evening in France). Whether these actions were virtual or in-person, they provide an illustration of the vital need to communicate, express solidarity, (re)create social relation- ships, and at time provide help to surrounding individuals.
In many towns, helping behaviors arose spontaneously among neighbors that had little to no interaction in the past. Regarding children and adolescents specifically, it is impossible to list every single prosocial act initiated dur- ing the lockdown, yet the actions of students from Ecole Jeannine Manuel in Paris provide a useful illustration1.
1Initiatives des élèves, à voir en détail sur https://www.
ecolejeanninemanuel.org/fr/public.html
During this period, students from the school made draw- ings, photo albums, recorded concerts, and designed games for socially isolated elderly individuals as well as creating a school tutoring network online for children from schools without distance learning programs. Many such initiatives popped up throughout France, as teachers and students engaged in spontaneous prosocial and altruistic behaviors.
These behaviors are of great interest to researchers in gaining a comprehensive view of altruism during the Spring 2020 lockdowns.
Conducting research in cognitive psychology during the lockdown
As with many other professional fields, research has had to adapt to new working conditions due to the pandemic (see[7]). This unforeseen context has proven particularly interesting to investigate behavioral phenomena. Two of the most useful and compatible instruments in a time of physical distancing are retrospective online surveys and qualitative interviews. Regarding surveys, area-wide lockdowns were quickly followed by the appearance of surveys in numerous languages aiming to study the effects of a lockdown on adult and child behavior and well-being. These surveys present strong methodological limitations[7] given that they typ- ically do not include longitudinal measures of behavioral changes before, during, and after lockdown periods. An additional consideration is the bias due to internet access, affecting the sample of respondents. Despite these obvi- ous limitations, this type of approach enables observation of adaptive phenomena in natural contexts compared to laboratory settings.
Conclusion
Empathy and altruism in children, as well as a child’s environment and the effect of extreme daily life situations such as the global pandemic and associated lockdowns on childhood development, are crucial fields that require additional investigation in typical and atypical populations.
Research has found that prosocial behavior may have ben- eficial effects on self-esteem and well-being as well as cognitive skills, making this area of research all the more important.
Conflict of interest None.
Journal Identification = NRP Article Identification = 0626 Date: June 16, 2021 Time: 2:35 pm
REVUE DE NEUROPSYCHOLOGIE
NEUROSCIENCES COGNITIVES ET CLINIQUES
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