Law of the jungle: Babies aware that size equals power 'at just ten months'

It will come to no surprise to anyone with a big brother or sister, but babies know who is boss.

Research shows that by the tender age of ten months, youngsters are aware of the ‘law of the jungle’ - that size brings with it power.

In times gone by, this skill might have helped them deduce that a lion posed more of a threat than a kitten.

Today, it is more likely to help a toddler with older siblings understand his or her place in the family pecking order.

Learning curve: By the tender age of ten months, babies are aware of the 'law of the jungle' - that size brings with it power

The researchers from Harvard University in the U.S. watched how almost 150 infants ranging from eight to 16 months old reacted to cartoons featuring characters of different sizes trying to pass each other on a narrow path.

In some cases, the bigger character gave way to the smaller one, in others, the little figure was the most powerful.

Like adults, babies watch something that surprises them more closely than something that is run of the mill.

In the experiment, the scenes in which the big character, or agent, deferred to the little one proved the most gripping, the journal Science reports.

Further experiments revealed that the babies had to be a least ten-month-old to grasp the significance of the power play.

This does not necessarily mean that the skill isn’t innate. It may be something we are born with but just don’t know how to use until the age of ten months or so.

Researcher Susan Carey said: ‘Our work shows that apparently, infants come prepared to understand abstract aspects of their social world.’

Lotto Thomsen, the study’s lead author, said: ‘Traditional kings and chieftains sit on large, elevated thrones and wear elaborate crowns or robes that make them look bigger than they really are, and subordinates often bow or kneel to show respect to superior humans and gods.

‘Many animals, like birds and cats, will puff themselves up to look physically larger to an adversary, and prostrate themselves to demonstrate submission, like dogs do.

‘Our work suggests that even with limited socialisation, preverbal human infants may understand such displays.’

The study is not the first to suggest that babies are wise beyond their years.

Previous research has shown that six-month-old babies are capable of telling the difference between friend and foe, suggesting we are born with a moral code.

And a British study found that babies may come into to the world with brains capable of daydreaming and introspection.