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Altruistic helping in human infants and young chimpanzees.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Warneken, F; Tomasello, M
Published in: Science (New York, N.Y.)
March 2006

Human beings routinely help others to achieve their goals, even when the helper receives no immediate benefit and the person helped is a stranger. Such altruistic behaviors (toward non-kin) are extremely rare evolutionarily, with some theorists even proposing that they are uniquely human. Here we show that human children as young as 18 months of age (prelinguistic or just-linguistic) quite readily help others to achieve their goals in a variety of different situations. This requires both an understanding of others' goals and an altruistic motivation to help. In addition, we demonstrate similar though less robust skills and motivations in three young chimpanzees.

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Published In

Science (New York, N.Y.)

DOI

EISSN

1095-9203

ISSN

0036-8075

Publication Date

March 2006

Volume

311

Issue

5765

Start / End Page

1301 / 1303

Related Subject Headings

  • Pan troglodytes
  • Motivation
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Helping Behavior
  • General Science & Technology
  • Female
  • Child, Preschool
  • Behavior, Animal
  • Animals
 

Citation

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Warneken, F., & Tomasello, M. (2006). Altruistic helping in human infants and young chimpanzees. Science (New York, N.Y.), 311(5765), 1301–1303. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1121448
Warneken, Felix, and Michael Tomasello. “Altruistic helping in human infants and young chimpanzees.Science (New York, N.Y.) 311, no. 5765 (March 2006): 1301–3. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1121448.
Warneken F, Tomasello M. Altruistic helping in human infants and young chimpanzees. Science (New York, NY). 2006 Mar;311(5765):1301–3.
Warneken, Felix, and Michael Tomasello. “Altruistic helping in human infants and young chimpanzees.Science (New York, N.Y.), vol. 311, no. 5765, Mar. 2006, pp. 1301–03. Epmc, doi:10.1126/science.1121448.
Warneken F, Tomasello M. Altruistic helping in human infants and young chimpanzees. Science (New York, NY). 2006 Mar;311(5765):1301–1303.
Journal cover image

Published In

Science (New York, N.Y.)

DOI

EISSN

1095-9203

ISSN

0036-8075

Publication Date

March 2006

Volume

311

Issue

5765

Start / End Page

1301 / 1303

Related Subject Headings

  • Pan troglodytes
  • Motivation
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Helping Behavior
  • General Science & Technology
  • Female
  • Child, Preschool
  • Behavior, Animal
  • Animals