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SEEKING ANSWERS.
WHAT THEY'VE DISCOVERED IS
REALLY EYE-OPENING.
TAKE A LOOK.
MEET MEGHAN.
SHE'S SIX MONTHS OLD.
>> LOOK HOW PRETTY YOU ARE.
>> SO IS CONNOR.
HAZEL IS 11 MONTHS.
AND LYLE JUST THREE MONTHS OLD.
THESE BABIES ARE HELPING TO
ANSWER ONE OF LIFE'S BIGGEST
QUESTIONS, ARE WE BORN KNOWING
RIGHT FROM WRONG?
>> SO WHEN MOST PEOPLE THINK OF
BABIES AS BLANK SLATES.
BUT YOUR EXPERIMENTS SAY THAT'S
NOT TRUE, THAT IT'S NOT THAT
THEY HAVE TO BE TAUGHT WRONG
FROM RIGHT.
>> FROM VERY EARLY AGES WE KNOW
THERE IS A LOT GOING ON IN
THERE.
>> CAN YOU PUT THAT IN THERE?
WOW.
LOOK AT THAT.
GOOD JOB.
>> THIS IS THE INFANT COGNITION
CENTER AT YALE UNIVERSITY,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE BABY LAB.
BASED ON OVER EIGHT YEARS OF
STUDIES, RESEARCHERS HERE
BELIEVE THAT BABIES ARE NOT
TAUGHT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
GOOD AND BAD BUT INSTEAD ARE
BORN KNOWING IT.
AS THESE BABIES GROW, THEIR
MORAL BELIEFS ARE ENHANCED BY
PARENTS AND SOCIETY, BUT THEY
AREN'T CREATED BY THEM.
THE STUDIES ARE CONDUCTED WITH
THE HELP OF PUPPET SHOWS.
THE PUPPETS ACTS OUT GOOD AND
BAD BEHAVIOR.
WATCH AS THIS PUPPET STRUGGLES
TO OPEN A BOX.
A GREEN BUNNY COMES ALONG AND
HELPS TO OPEN THE BOX.
GREEN BUNNY, NICE AND HELPFUL.
THEN AN ORANGE BUNNY COMES ALONG
AND SLAMS THE BOX SHUT.
ORANGE BUNNY, MEAN AND
UNHELPFUL.
THE ACTIONS ARE REPEATED A
NUMBER OF TIMES.
BUT WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO
6-MONTH-OLD MEGHAN?
SHE WATCHES THE SHOW AND IS THEN
PRESENTED WITH THE TWO PUPPETS.
THE NICE GREEN BUNNY AND THE
MEAN ORANGE BUNNY.
>> WHO DO YOU LIKE?
>> MEGAN GRABS FOR THE GREEN
BUNNY, THE NICE ONE.
DR. KAREN WINN RUNS THE YALE
BABY LAB.
SHE SAYS BY GRABBING WITH HER
HANDS, MEGHAN SHOWS SHE
UNDERSTANDS THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD.
>> WHEN IT COMES TO THE SOCIAL
WORLD, LITTLE MEGHAN HERE WHO IS
HUGGING -- THAT'S CUTE -- SHE'S
SHOWING THE REALLY TYPICAL
RESPONSE OF ALL OF THE BABIES
THAT COME IN.
THEY GRAVITATE TOWARDS THE
HELPFUL CHARACTERS AND THE
FRIENDLY CHARACTERS FROM VERY
EARLY ON THERE.
>> HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT SHE'S
REALLY THINKING?
>> WELL, WE DON'T KNOW THE
SUBTLETIES OF WHAT SHE'S REALLY
THINKING.
BUT WHAT WE FIND IS WHEN THEY
LOOK AT A SOCIAL INTERACTION
BETWEEN TWO INDIVIDUALS THEY CAN
TELL WHETHER THAT'S A POSITIVE
ONE OR A NEGATIVE ONE, AND
THEY'RE DRAWN TOWARDS THE
POSITIVE CHARACTER.
>> UP GOES THE CURTAIN.
>> CONNOR AND SOSHI WATCH THE
SAME SHOW.
NICE BUNNY, MEAN BUNNY.
ACCORDING TO THE STUDIES, OVER
80% OF THE TIME THE NICE BUNNY
ENDS UP IN THE ARMS OF THE BABY.
WINN AND HER TEAM WANTED TO SEE
IF BABIES EVEN YOUNGER THAN SIX
MONTHS WOULD RECOGNIZE GOOD AND
BAD BEHAVIOR.
SO THEY TRIED THIS EXPERIMENT
WITH 3-MONTH-OLDS.
BABIES THIS YOUNG DON'T HAVE THE
MOTOR SKILLS TO GRAB FOR
ANYTHING, SO HOW DO THEY SHOW
THEIR PREFERENCE?
IT TURNS OUT BY STARING.
BABIES THIS YOUNG ARE KNOWN TO
STARE LONGER AT THINGS THEY
LIKE, AND THEY AVERT THEIR EYES
FROM THINGS THEY DON'T LIKE.
>> NOAH, WHO DO YOU LIKE?
>> NOAH LOOKS A THE BAD ORANGE
BUNNY, THEN SWITCHES HIS GAZE TO
THE GOOD GREEN BUNNY.
AND HE KEEPS STARING.
>> THEY'RE NOT OLD ENOUGH TO
REACH, BUT IN THEIR LOOKING THEY
WILL ORIENT VISUALLY TO THE
POSITIVE CHARACTERS MUCH, MUCH
MORE SO.
>> THEY LOOK MORE AT THE
POSITIVE CHARACTER.
>> THEY LOOK LOTS LONGER AT THE
POSITIVE CHARACTERS.
>> DOES THAT SURPRISE YOU?
>> IT DID.
IT DID.
THAT DID SURPRISE ME.
AND WHAT IT'S CAUSED ME TO
BELIEVE IS THAT IT'S JUST A KIND
OF A FUNDAMENTAL VALUE.
WE'RE BUILT TO SAY THIS IS GOOD,
THIS IS POSITIVE, THIS IS BAD.
>> INCREDIBLE.
INCREDIBLE.
YES.
>> WHAT'S ALSO INCREDIBLE IS
THAT ABOUT 90% OF TH3-MONTH-OLD
TESTED SEEMED TO RECOGNIZE GOOD
BEHAVIOR.
19-MONTH-OLD NATALIE TAKES THE
EXPERIMENT A STEP FURTHER.
BY NOT ONLY RECOGNIZING GOOD AND
BAD BEHAVIOR BUT ACTING ON IT.
NATALIE IS PRESENTED WITH TWO
TIM BOWLS PLACED IN FRONT OF THE
TWO PUPPETS FROM THE SHOW.
>> OH, NO.
>> OH, NO, NATALIE, LOOK.
THERE'S ONLY ONE TREAT LEFT.
THERE'S ONLY ONE TREAT LEFT TO
GIVE.
>> WATCH AS SHE GIVES IT TO THE
GOOD PUPPET.
>> WHO DO YOU WANT TO GIVE A
TREAT TO?
THAT GUY?
OKAY.
>> SO WHAT DOES IT TELL YOU?
>> THEY'RE ACTUALLY -- I THINK
IT TELLS US THAT THEY'RE
ACTUALLY EVALUATING WHO'S
DESERVING OF WHAT TYPES OF
BEHAVIOR IN THE WORLD, AND WHO
DO THEY FEEL WARRANTS GETTING
THE BENEFITS.
>> AND THE BABIES TAKE A STEP
FURTHER.
THEY DON'T JUST REWARD, THEY
PUNISH AS WELL.
HERE THEY'RE GIVEN A CHOICE TO
TAKE A TREAT AWAY FROM A GOOD OR
BAD PUPPET.
>> WHO DO YOU WANT TO TAKE A
TREAT FROM?
>> ALMOST 90% OF THE TIME, THE
BABIES WILL PUNISH THE BAD
PUPPET.
>> NOW, IS IT POSSIBLE THIS IS
JUST COINCIDENCE THAT THEY'RE
JUST KIND OF GRAVITATING TO A
COLOR OF OF THE SHIRT THEY LIKE
MORE OR WHERE THE PLACEMENT IS?
>> GOOD QUESTION.
WE SWITCH THE COLORS OF THE
SHIRTS.
SO FOR HALF THE BABIES THE GREEN
SHIRTED PUPPET IS NICE.
FOR HALF THE BABIES IT'S THE
ORANGE-SHIRT PUPPET THAT'S NICE.
WHAT WE FIND OVER AND OVER
AGAIN, IT REALLY DOESN'T RELATE
TO COLOR OF THE SHIRT OR WHICH
PUPPETS ON THE LEFT AND ON THE
RIGHT.
IT'S WHO'S BEEN THE POSITIVE
CHARACTER.
>> EVEN THOUGH THESE BABIES
CAN'T TELL US WHAT THEY'RE