A new study, to be published in the March 8 issue of Neuron, finds that children who act selfishly, even though they should know better, are not necessarily showing personality or behaviorial disorders. Rather, their seeming self-centeredness is linked to immature brain development, reports HealthyDay News.

The study author, Nikolaus Steinbeis, says that the study, which looked at children of different ages playing games together, and its findings, have “far reaching implications for educational policy.”

Steinbeis explains: “"We observed an age-related increase in strategic decision-making between ages 6 to 13 years and showed that changes in bargaining behavior were best accounted for by age-related differences in impulse-control abilities and underlying functional activity of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a late-maturing brain region linked with self control.”

So the next time your young niece or nephew displays selfish behavior with you and others, know that she or he will most likely grow out of it. As soon as that brain matures too.

Published: March 7, 2012