Effects of Moral Elevation on Children's Implicit and Explicit Prosociality: Evidence from Behavioral and Physiological Responses.

Abstract

This study investigated how moral elevation affects children's prosocial behavior through two experiments. In Experiment 1 (n = 99; M_age = 10.48 ± 0.86 years), children were randomly assigned to Moral Elevation, Joy, or Neutral groups. Psychophysiological measures were recorded during both the baseline and task phases, while self-reported prosocial behavior was assessed using validated scales. Participants in the Moral Elevation group experienced emotional states marked by inspired, moved, touched, admiration, and uplifted, accompanied by a distinct pattern of sympathetic-parasympathetic coactivation. Although not statistically significant in self-reported measures, a notable pattern emerged wherein Moral Elevation yielded the highest prosocial scores, followed by Joy and then Neutral conditions. Experiment 2 (n = 92; M_age = 10.84 ± 0.76 years) employed a single-category Implicit Association Test (IAT) to assess prosocial behavioral tendencies. The Moral Elevation group exhibited a significantly stronger implicit prosocial bias on the IAT compared to both Joy and Neutral groups. These findings suggest that moral elevation possesses a unique emotional profile separate from general positive affect that activates dual dissociable pathways for children's prosocial behavior: explicit and implicit processes. The study provides empirical support for incorporating moral elevation interventions in educational settings to cultivate integrated prosocial development.