Infants' Social Evaluation of Helpers and Hinderers: A Large-Scale, Multi-Lab, Coordinated Replication Study.

Evaluating whether someone's behavior is praiseworthy or blameworthy is a fundamental human trait. A seminal study by Hamlin and colleagues in 2007 suggested that the ability to form social evaluations based on third-party interactions emerges within the first year of life: infants preferred a character who helped, over hindered, another who tried but failed to climb a hill. This sparked a new line of inquiry into the origins of social evaluations; however, replication attempts have yielded mixed results.

Intergenerational transmission of mental health risk in refugee families: The role of maternal psychopathology and emotional availability.

To prevent an intergenerational cycle of malfunction, it is crucial to understand how mothers' exposure to traumatic war experiences contributes to their children's vulnerability to mental health problems. This study examined the role of maternal psychopathology and mother-child emotional availability (EA) in the association between mothers' trauma exposure and children's mental health problems in a sample of 222 Burundian mother-child dyads living in refugee camps in Tanzania. Maternal and child EA were assessed through recorded observations of mother-child interactions.

Short-term and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on child psychological well-being: a four-wave longitudinal study.

As the COVID-19 pandemic further unfolds, it becomes a key theoretical and practical question to identify trajectories of child psychological well-being and to explore risk and resilience factors for developmental adjustment. The current study addressed this research gap by means of an ecological design: A (lockdown)-B (relaxation)-B (relaxation)-A (lockdown). We collected parental reports via online questionnaires over four measurement occasions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany (non-probabilistic sample): from the first lockdown (T1-spring 2020, N = 1769) to the following period of relaxation (T2-summer 2020, n = 873; T3-fall 2020, n = 729) on to the second lockdown (T4-winter 2020/21, n = 748).

The ontogenetic emergence of normativity: How action imitation relates to infants' norm enforcement.

Major developmental theories allot imitation a pivotal role in the cultural acquisition of social norms. Although there exists considerable evidence of young children's norm enforcement behavior, the ontogenetic emergence of normativity and the role of imitation is debated. Here, we assessed two pathways of how general imitation tendencies might relate to norm enforcement: The compliance path holds that young children's general imitation tendencies lead to displaying compliant behavior, which in turn predicts norm enforcement toward third parties.

Varieties of normative understanding and their relation to sharing behavior in preschool children.

Children increasingly appreciate normative obligations and share resources across the preschool years. But the internal structure and behavioral relevance of normative expressions in the context of sharing-that is, the relation with children's own sharing behavior-remains disputed. Here, 4- to 6-year-old children (N = 90; 37 female) observed protagonists sharing or not sharing resources.

How does the moral self-concept relate to prosocial behaviour? Investigating the role of emotions and consistency preference.

The moral self-concept has been proposed as a central predictor of prosocial behaviour. In two experiments (one preregistered), we explored the nature of the relation between the moral self-concept (explicit and implicit) and prosocial behaviour. Specifically, we investigated the role of emotions associated with prosocial behaviour (consequential or anticipated) and preference for consistency.

Longitudinal Relations Between Parental Strain, Parent-Child Relationship Quality, and Child Well-Being During the Unfolding COVID-19 Pandemic.

As COVID-19 sweeps across the globe, scientists have identified children and families as possibly particularily vulnerable populations. The present study employed a developmental framework with two measurement points (the first at the peak of the lockdown restrictions (N = 2,921), the second after restrictions had been majorly loosened (N = 890)) to provide unique insights into the relations between parental strain, child well-being, and child problem behavior. Cross-lagged panel analyses revealed longitudinal effects of child well-being and problem behavior at T1 on parental strain at T2 with parent-child relationship quality as a moderator.

Children's psychological well-being and problem behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic: An online study during the lockdown period in Germany.

As COVID-19 dramatically changes human social life, restrictive lockdown periods to slow the spread of the virus have been suggested to particularly affect the psychological well-being of children and their families. To capture lockdown-related effects on a large scale, the present study used an online questionnaire completed by parents of 3-10-year-olds during the most restrictive lockdown period in Germany thus far (N = 2,672). Parents reported their stress level, their child's well-being, and their child's problem behaviors among others.

Prevention for oneself or others? Psychological and social factors that explain social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Identifying the underlying psychological and social factors of social distancing is crucial to foster preventive behavior during a pandemic effectively. We investigated the relative contribution of self-focused factors (fear of infection, fear of punishment) and other-focused factors (moral judgment, moral identity, empathy for unspecific others, empathy for loved ones) in an online study in Germany ( = 246) while COVID-19 was climaxing. Importantly, other-oriented factors were related to social distancing behavior beyond self-oriented factors.

The normative status of friendship: Do young children enforce sharing with friends and appreciate reasonable partiality?

Contemporary moral philosophy stresses the idea of reasonable partiality. This concept proposes that close relationships carry a normative obligation to be partial toward another person. This study explored in two experiments whether 4- to 6-year-old children (N = 185) enforce partiality toward friends from third parties (Experiment 1) and how they prioritize a norm of equality and interpersonal obligations toward friends (Experiment 2).