The Moral Development Lab
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Our research focuses on uncovering the foundations of pro- and anti-social behaviors. By using a comparative and developmental approach, we adopt a broad theoretical framework that integrates evolutionary mechanisms and cross-cultural differences. Our basic premise is that humans have the ability to switch between two alternative representations: as 'discrete individuals' or 'group exemplars'. With this in mind, we examine the broad topic of morality by studying the behaviors of great apes and children from various cultural backgrounds.
Individuals
One aspect of our research centers on dyadic interactions in great apes and young children. In this regard, we study aspects such as behavior (e.g., sharing and reciprocity), motivation (e.g., gratitude and guilt), and the role of one's social position (e.g., social status).
Groups
A second aspect of our research concerns intra- and inter-group interactions. Here, we explore the effect of being a member of 'real' or 'unreal' groups on altruism, spite, reciprocity, ownership, and the malleability of group biases.
Objects
A third aspect of our research is interactions with objects. Specifically, we address the enhancement of objects' value through invested effort, cultural differences in associating value and scarcity, and individual variations in children's novelty seeking.
