Babies are good judges of character long before they learn to speak, according to a new study. Infants as young as six months preferred characters which helped rather than hindered others in a simple puppet show.

Researchers say the findings reveal that humans begin making social evaluations far earlier than previously thought.

“This is the very first experiment in anywhere near this age that shows babies develop preferences for individuals based on their actions,” says Karen Wynn at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, US, who led the study…

Wynn notes that earlier studies have shown that babies have shown a preference for beautiful faces.

She believes the results from her study indicate that babies have a preference for helpful individuals about a year earlier than previously thought. “They are an unbiased third party and they are not at all shy about rendering a judgement on social actions,” she says, adding that this tendency appears early in development because it is a strongly advantageous trait later in life…

Source: New Scientist, UK
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