A study that appeared today in Pnas demonstrates that the ability to distinguish between the different types of dominance emerges very early in life, at around two years of age.
The study is the joint work of post doc researcher Francesco Margoni and professor Luca Surian of the Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science of the University of Trento, and professor Renée Baillargeon of the Department of Psychology of the University of Illinois.
The research work was carried out in the laboratories of Rovereto and the University of Illinois on 21-months old male and female infants: at this age they have already developed the attention and memory skills required to participate in a behavioural trial, with still little social contact.
Infants were shown short animations in which two events were depicted: one with a leader and the other with a bully interacting with a group. In another animation the leader or the bully gave an order to the group, which initially obeyed. Would the group continue to obey even when the leader or bully have left the room? The researchers built their conclusions by watching the little viewers’ surprised reaction to obedience and disobedience that was displayed in the videos.
The press release includes statements from post-doc researcher Francesco Margoni and professor Luca Surian.