Experiments conducted by Program on Negotiation faculty member Francesca Gino ^[1] and her colleague Sreedhari Desai suggest that remembering childhood memories may cause a person to behave in a more ethical manner.

The research, recently published in the Journal of Personality and Psychology, used a set of experiments in which participants could assist the experimenter with a task, judge the ethicality of a certain behavior, or donate money to charity.

When memories of childhood were recalled, participants were more likely to help, judged unethical behavior harshly ^[2], and displayed increased tendencies towards generosity.

This effect was the same whether the participant had a pleasant or unpleasant childhood experience. The research suggests that recollecting childhood memories stimulates a heightened sense of “moral purity” or, “a frame of mind that effects behavior.”

The main impact of this research is in demonstrating the importance of mental cues in decision-making, or as Francesca Gino says: “It’s promising research in thinking about ways in which people are following their moral compass with very simple interventions.”

Adapted from Scientific American, “Do Childhood Memories Serve as a Moral Compass? ^[3]” by Jessica Gross.

Related Article: Moral Vignettes: How Imagery Impacts Decision-Making Abilities ^[5]