Study: Babies can tell helpful, hurtful playmates

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Even infants can tell the difference between naughty and nice playmates, and know which to choose, a new study finds.

A baby chooses a helpful toy instead of a hindering toy in a Yale University study of infant behavior.

Babies as young as 6 to 10 months old showed crucial social judging skills before they could talk, according to a study by researchers at Yale University's Infant Cognition Center published in Thursday's journal Nature.

The infants watched a googly eyed wooden toy trying to climb roller-coaster hills and then another googly eyed toy come by and either help it over the mountain or push it backward. They then were presented with the toys to see which they would play with.

Nearly every baby picked the helpful toy over the bad one.

The babies also chose neutral toys -- ones that didn't help or hinder -- over the naughty ones. And the babies chose the helping toys over the neutral ones.... Read More of this Article at CNN.com

Or post a comment