Memories of good deeds past: The reinforcing power of prosocial behavior in children

• Does considering one’s past prosociality lead to additional good behavior or bad behavior?
• Research with adults has been mixed, so we investigated the developmental origins of this question.
• We show that children are more generous after recalling their own––but not others’––past good deeds.
• We also find that children continue to show enhanced moral motivation after recalling multiple good deeds.
• These findings suggest that doing good leads to more good in children.

Does considering one’s past prosociality affect future behavior? Prior research has revealed instances in which adults engage in additional prosocial behavior—moral reinforcement—as well as instances in which adults engage in worse behavior—moral licensing. The current study examined the developmental origins of these effects by testing whether 6- to 8-year-old children (N = 225) are more or less generous after recalling their own good deeds. Children were asked to recount a time when they were nice, were mean, or watched a movie. Children behaved more generously after recalling a time when they were nice. We show that this boost in generosity was not simply the result of instructing children to consider nice behavior; children’s giving did not increase after recalling others’ good deeds. We also show that, even after recounting multiple instances of their past goodness, children continue to behave more generously. These findings suggest that doing good leads to more good in children.