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Developmental perspectives are crucial to harnessing the human potential for altruism. We synthesise and highlight recent research on the motivations underlying children's (costly) prosocial behaviour. The order in which children develop intrinsic, extrinsic, and strategic motivations to benefit others has implications for efforts to positively impact young people's lives.

More information Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.tics.2026.03.007

Type

Journal article

Publication Date

2026-04-18T00:00:00+00:00

Keywords

altruism, childhood, empathy, extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, prosocial behaviour