Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42410079›Full record

ArticleNature human behaviour2026

Stable intuition and the rise of deliberative prosociality in childhood.

Francesco Margoni, Francesco Nava, Chiara Sotis, Matthew R Levy, Valerio Capraro, Elena Nava

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature human behaviour, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Francesco Margoni *Department of Psychology, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway. francesco.margoni@uis.no.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8109-228X
Francesco Nava *Department of Economics, London School of Economics, London, UK.
Chiara SotisDepartment of Economics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
Matthew R LevyDepartment of Economics, London School of Economics, London, UK.
Valerio CapraroDepartment of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
Elena NavaDepartment of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy. elena.nava@unimib.it.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7496-9565

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We examine how social behaviours emerge and stabilize across childhood. A sample of 537 Italian-speaking children (3-10 years) were randomly assigned to respond under time pressure (intuitive) or time delay (deliberative) in social decision tasks (Public Goods, Dictator, Ultimatum, Deception and Moral Dilemmas). Factor analysis identified three latent dimensions: Prosociality (cooperative, altruistic and honest actions), Social Optimism (beliefs about others' cooperation) and Acquiescence (tendency to accept offers). Intuitive responses were more prosocial than deliberative ones in early childhood (β = 0.66; 95% CI = (0.35, 0.97)), but this difference diminished with age (β = -0.11; 95% CI = (-0.18, -0.05)). We found no evidence that Social Optimism varied across age or decision mode, whereas Acquiescence declined with age (β = -0.14; 95% CI = (-0.19, -0.10)). These findings suggest a developmental shift whereby prosocial behaviour is initially driven by intuitive responses and gradually becomes embedded within reflective, deliberative decision-making systems, as cooperative dispositions stabilize across childhood.

Indexed as

Child DevelopmentDecision MakingIntuitionSocial BehaviorAltruismChildChild, PreschoolCognitive ReflectionCooperative BehaviorFemaleHumansMaleMoralsTime Pressure

Identifiers

PMID42410079
PMCPMC13590409

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.