New Study Proves Babies Are Jerks

posted March 13, 2013 by Aviva West

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(Via CaptBrando/Flickr)

A new study conducted at the University of British Columbia seems to have proven that babies are jerks.

The study, conducted by Assistant Professor of Psychology Kiley Hamlin on 112 infants between the ages of 9 and 14-months, found that the babies seem to like individuals who pick on those who don’t share their preferences.

For the study, the babies were given the chance to choose a food they preferred, either green beans or graham crackers.

Babies can experience schaudenfreude, according to a new #UBC Psychology study. ow.ly/iOwlw

— UBC Faculty of Arts (@UBC_Arts) March 12, 2013

They were then shown a puppet show where a puppet demonstrated the same food preference as the infant and another demonstrated the opposite preference.

The puppets then harmed, helped or acted neutrally towards the puppets with similar or different food preference.

According to Hamlin, the study overwhelmingly showed that babies preferred the puppets who harmed the puppet with the opposite food preferences, proving irrefutably that babies are jerks.

Hamlin was surprised that nearly all of the 112 babies tested seemed to enjoy seeing harm come to the puppets with opposite food tastes.