Effects of Mental Representations of Children on Prosocial Motivation

Children have the potential to elicit concern about the plight of others and the world in which we live. This potential appears in diverse ways. After the news media covering the Syrian migrant crisis showed images of a dead boy, Aylan Kurdi, washed up on a beach, condemnation of the migrant crisis escalated (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34133210). Several months later, the birth of a baby daughter to Priscilla Chan and her partner, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, led them to donate £30bn toward charitable causes, explicitly attempting to make the world a better place for her to grow up ("Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg to give away 99% of shares," n.d.). These incidents fit many organisations' assumptions that they can enhance interest and support for poverty and environmental concerns by putting children front and centre in their campaigns (e.g., ActOnCO2's "bedtime story": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDthR9RH0gw).

Although this anecdotal evidence is provocative, research has not directly examined the role of children in adult prosocial motivation. To be clear, the issue is not whether children elicit more benevolence toward them, the issue is whether children elicit moral motivations to be more considerate of others in general. The proposed research tests whether children causes an increase in adults' prosocial motivation. We expect that the salience of children inspires adults to shift into a motivational focus that enables them to transcend their own needs and to consider the welfare of others.
This hypothesis received provocative support in two pilot experiments, wherein the task of imagining and describing a child caused participants to place more importance on pro-social values (e.g., helpfulness, forgiving). However, before being confident in the conclusion that the salience of children increases prosocial motivation, it is important to complete experiments addressing four relevant issues. First, we need to test whether the salience of children increases prosocial motivation in adults across experimental paradigms featuring children of different ages, different measures of prosocial motivation, and different means of making them salient (e.g., music versus narratives). Second, we need to test whether child salience is more likely to elicit pro-social motivation among individuals who are more positive toward children than among individuals who are more negative toward them. Third, we need to discover whether the effects of child salience on pro-social motivation are due to temporary changes in thinking or more thoughtful, long-term changes in prosocial motivation. Fourth, we need to discover whether child salience can elicit greater persuasion from messages advocating socially responsible behaviour, such as environmentally sustainable actions.

These issues will be examined across six experiments, all of which will be conducted with participants from the community, including parents and non-parents. The first two experiments will focus on the first two issues described above - issues that focus on when thoughts about children increase prosocial motivation. The next two experiments will focus on the third question described above, examining how thoughts about children influence prosocial motivation. The final two experiments will begin to address the final question above, helping to assess implications for behaviour change. Together, the experiments will help to address a glaring lack of knowledge about the role of children in adult social cognition and behaviour, making an important scientific contribution with eventual societal implications.

WHO WILL BENEFIT?

The major aim of this proposal is to alert scientists who study psychology about the importance of mental representations of children in human social cognition. Beyond this basic relevance to the academic community, the research will be of interest to numerous governmental and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) involved in child policy, including the Children's Commissioner for England, Child Rights Information Network, Children in Wales, Department of Children, Education, Lifelong learning & Skills (Welsh Assembly Government), European Network of Ombudspersons for Children, Funky Dragon, National Children's Bureau, Office of the Children's Commissioner for Wales, Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, Welsh UNCRC Monitoring Committee hosted at Save the Children, Youth Justice Board for England and Wales. The Children's Society, Save the Children, Common Cause Foundation, and the Children's Rights Alliance for England have offered support for this proposal, including feedback on our aims, designs, and impact (already integrated in this proposal) and membership in our Advisory Board.

The findings will also benefit public, private, and third-sector groups that have an interest in the role of children in adult cognition and behaviour. These include government departments interested in promoting health and the environment, private organisations (e.g., sporting stadia, restaurants, residences) that make decisions about whether to include or exclude children from areas in their premises, and diverse charities that attempt to promote compassionate aims.

HOW WILL THEY BENEFIT?

Although the focus of this research is on basic psychological processes, the research will help stimulate thinking about a potential role of children in social cohesion. These effects are relevant to improving the effectiveness of public services and policy. For instance, there have been attempts to expand the presence of children at sporting events that have been traditionally been dominated by adult men. Although the effects of children on pro-social motivation should not form the sole basis for policy decisions (e.g., because child welfare considerations will always be paramount), our prediction that children strengthen pro-social motivation could be partial support for such initiatives if considered alongside other issues (e.g., child protection, equality guidelines).

In addition, the final pair of experiments in this program of studies will provide a provocative new test of the potential role of children in improving quality of life and the environment. This possible effect is illustrated by the growing interest in the role of children in social marketing that attempts to alter adult behaviour by showing deleterious impacts on children (e.g., ActOnCO2 Bedtime Story). Our evidence will provide the first direct test of whether children enhance the effectiveness of such messages. Potential implications for efforts to promote social cohesion and public health will also be explored if this project is successful.

Our broad dissemination and engagement plans will help to ensure that relevant stakeholders consider the findings and their potential implications. At the same time, we will provide an important element of capacity building. This will be attained through the strong analytical and communication skills acquired by the Research Associate. The project requires advanced quantitative statistical methods (e.g., Multilevel Modelling, Statistical Equation Modelling) that are in short supply and can easily be transferred to any institution that requires precise empirical evaluation of complex data. Both the Research Associate and part-time Research Assistant will also utilise and learn advanced skills in experimentation with human participants, which are essential in a variety of research contexts.