In this research, we focus on a different internal state, namely feelings of moral purity, and how it can be triggered by childhood memories. Both in social and professional contexts, explicit or subtle cues often remind us of our childhood. For instance, people often keep childhood pictures of themselves around their house, or engage in activities (e.g., playing simple games) that remind them of childhood. Similarly, people often work in a more or less playful office.
For instance, companies like Google, Disney and Ideo, among others, organize their space such that employees are surrounded by toys and colorful furniture. Although these cues and products are generally used to foster a cohesive and productive work climate, they may also produce some unintended but beneficial consequences. They may lead individuals to think about their childhood, and engage in other-oriented behaviors.
Charles Dickens’ masterpiece, A Christmas Carol, offers a brilliant insight into how reminiscing about one’s childhood can lead to prosocial behavior. In the novel, when Ebenezer Scrooge recalls his childhood, he wishes he had given a coin to a boy singing carols the night before. We propose that childhood memories promote feelings of moral purity and, in turn, these feelings lead to prosocial behavior. We suggest that this occurs because of the associations people automatically draw between childhood memories and moral purity.
Research has consistently found that once one concept is activated, associated concepts – from traits to stereotypes to goals – are also triggered through spreading activation. For instance, coldness and loneliness or darkness and depravity are examples of symbolic associations that are reciprocally related . Here, we focus on the association between childhood and moral purity, and how this association promotes prosocial behaviors (i.e., behaviors primarily intended to benefit others). We tested the relationship between childhood memories, moral purity and prosocial behavior in four studies, using different measures of prosocial behavior.
Priming Childhood and the Experience of Moral Purity
Across cultures, children are commonly viewed as innocent and pure human beings who are not tainted by vices or selfish motives, and are regarded as little angels adults have a duty to protect. The words commonly used to refer to children, including "innocent creatures," "little angels," "flowers," or "divine creatures" mirror this view.
In a similar vein, Froebel’s metaphor of kindergarten, the "garden of children", portraits children as seedlings, in a state of natural goodness, to be nurtured and cared for during their development. This image of the child as innocent is constantly represented in the sentimental world of greeting cards, in the arts and literature, in religion, and it is also played out in the media portrayal of tragic events including children. When children are involved, the event is often characterized as something that has taken away children’s innocence, as if innocence and purity are inherent characteristics of childhood.
The rest of the Working Paper may be read at the Harvard Business School site.
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