Social learning Children solve tasks in a team

Social learning: children solve problems in teamwork - monkeys are egoists

02.03.2012

Who works in a team is stronger and more efficient. This was the result of a study by the University of Durham, UK. The study compared children's social learning with that of monkeys. The result: even small children are right „Teamworker“ - Monkeys, on the other hand, can not work in the group and solve tasks.

Children like to work in a team
For the study, 35 three- and four-year-old children were divided into groups. Within the group, they should open a box that was designed to require three steps. For each step, two actions had to be performed in parallel. As a reward, the children each received treats. The result of the test showed that in eight of the children's groups at least two children were able to complete the three work steps. They quickly realized that teamwork was needed to solve the tasks and jointly developed a suitable solution strategy. According to scientists, they would have „Support each other, imitated, rewarded and given instructions“.

Altruistic acts already in infancy
The same task was done to dozens of chimpanzees and capuchin monkeys. The conditions were the same, even the monkeys were lured with rewards. It turned out that the monkeys had great difficulty coping with the three work steps. They did not understand the task as team work and tried to open the box without help. Complex tasks solve the animals therefore less effective. „They acted in a completely selfish manner, largely independent of the behavior of the other animals“, the researchers report. Only one chimpanzee managed to solve the third step after 30 hours. Among the capuchin monkeys, this step did not reach a single animal. Only two monkeys were able to solve the second stage after 53 hours. In contrast to the observations in the monkeys, the scientists were able to recognize 215 altruistic events in the children. This included, for example, the passing on of a reward.

Researchers point out in their article that their findings also support previous studies. Cooperative behavior leads to a facilitation of the accumulation of knowledge and expansion of capabilities in a community. Pro-social behavior and ability to cooperate were „essential aspects of human nature“.

„The study results confirm our observations in practice“, says graduate pedagogue Jessica Bertram. If toddlers are promised a common goal through rewards, they can quickly form groups to solve tasks. „Treats are often shared afterwards“. Children do not compete with each other, adds Bertram. The „Competition and ownership claims develop later.“

Gratitude and maternal love strengthen social behavior
American researchers from Washington University in St. Louis recently found that early childhood emotional care boosts cognitive development and later social behavior. Maternal affection enhances the growth of the hippocampus, which is crucial for the rest of life. This brain region has a significant impact on both memory and emotions and their processing and stress management, as the researchers in the journal „Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences“ to report. (Sb)

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Picture: Helene Souza