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Söldner L, Paulus M. I help, therefore, I am? - A registered report on longitudinal inter-relations of the three-dimensional moral self-concept and prosocial behaviours in preschool children. BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024; 42:257-284. [PMID: 38483075 DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/18/2024]
Abstract
Children's moral self-concept (MSC) has been proposed to relate to prosocial behaviour. However, systematic assessments of their inter-relations are scarce. Therefore, this longitudinal study investigated the development, structure and inter-relation of prosocial behaviours and the MSC in childhood, using three measurement points at ages 4, 5 and 6 years. We assessed children's MSC and helping, sharing and comforting behaviours in a laboratory setting. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed a three-dimensional MSC structure at 5 and 6 years, but not at 4 years. There was inconsistent stability across time points regarding prosocial behaviour and MSC. For the comforting domain, but not the other domains, cross-lagged relations between self-concept and behaviour were present. Moreover, helping behaviour and self-concept were inter-related at 6 years. Results provide support for reciprocal associations between MSC and prosocial behaviour, albeit only in the comforting domain. They highlight the importance of distinguishing between types of prosocial behaviour and corresponding dimensions of the self-concept, as different developmental trajectories and associations emerge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Söldner
- Department Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Markus Paulus
- Department Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
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Söldner L, Paulus M. I help, therefore, I am?-longitudinal interrelations of the three-dimensional moral self-concept and prosocial behaviours in 4-6-year-old children. BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024; 42:1-17. [PMID: 37964099 DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
Children's moral self-concept (MSC) has been proposed to relate to prosocial behaviour. However, systematic assessments of their interrelations are scarce. The current study examines the early development, structure, stability and interrelation of three key prosocial behaviours and the corresponding dimensions of the moral self-concept. To this end, we use a longitudinal approach with three measurement points during the preschool years at ages 4, 5 and 6 years. We assess three prosocial dimensions of children's MSC through a puppet-interview. In addition, behavioural measures of children's helping, sharing and comforting were administered in a laboratory setting. By examining the longitudinal associations between MSC and prosocial behaviours, this study will provide valuable insights into the complex nature of prosocial development in early childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Söldner
- Department Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Markus Paulus
- Department Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
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Pavlenko VB, Kaida AI, Klinkov VN, Mikhailova AA, Orekhova LS, Portugalskaya AA. Features of reactivity of the EEG mu rhythm in children with autism spectrum disorders in helping behavior situations. BULLETIN OF RUSSIAN STATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY 2023. [DOI: 10.24075/brsmu.2023.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
Abstract
One of the subjects being discussed by the professional community currently is the role possibly played by the mirror neuron system (MNS) in the violation of social behavior of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The MNS is known to shape the perception of emotions of others and understanding and imitation of their actions. Mu rhythm desynchronization in EEG is considered to be the indicator of the MNS activation. The purpose of this study was to identify the features of reactivity of the EEG mu rhythm within an individually determined frequency range in preschoolers with ASD in situations requiring instrumental, emotional and altruistic helping behavior (HB). The study involved children 4–7 years old with ASD (n = 26) and their normally developing peers without the condition (n = 37). Although in most cases, HB was more pronounced in the group of normally developing children, the differences between the groups are significant only for altruistic HP (p < 0.01), and for the situation requiring complex altruistic and emotional HP it approaches significance (p = 0.09). Evaluation of the mu rhythm reactivity indices showed that the tasks invoking complex altruistic and emotional HB bring this indicator down significantly in children with ASD compared to the group of normally developing participants, as shown by the central leads of the left and right hemispheres and the parietal lead of the right hemisphere (C3: p = 0.02 ; C4: p = 0.03; P4: p = 0.03). It is assumed that the detected features stem from the impaired functioning of the MNS and the downstream regulation to the MNS from prefrontal cortex and other areas of the neocortex. The data obtained can be used in development of EEG biofeedback training protocols for children with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- VB Pavlenko
- Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Russia
| | - AI Kaida
- Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Russia
| | - VN Klinkov
- Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Russia
| | - AA Mikhailova
- Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Russia
| | - LS Orekhova
- Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Russia
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Paz Y, Davidov M, Orlitsky T, Hayut M, Roth-Hanania R, Zahn-Waxler C. Prosocial behavior in toddlerhood and early childhood: Consistency across subtypes and over time. Front Psychol 2023; 14:950160. [PMID: 36910831 PMCID: PMC9997644 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.950160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Young children show their capacity for compassion and their desire to enhance the welfare of others in multiple ways. The present study sought to address gaps in knowledge regarding prosociality in the early years. Specifically, the study examined whether different subtypes of prosociality are interrelated, whether they are consistent over time, as well as the meaning of young children's spontaneous versus cued prosocial behavior. Methods In a longitudinal sample (N = 151), three subtypes of prosocial behavior-instrumental helping, compassionate helping (comforting), and sharing-were assessed using behavioral tasks in toddlerhood (18 months) and early childhood (36 months). Results Consistent with hypothesis, partial convergence was found between the different prosociality subtypes at each age. There was also modest continuity over time, both within and across prosocial subtypes. Moreover, at both ages, when children helped or shared spontaneously, they also provided more assistance in the task. Children's tendency to assist spontaneously was partially consistent across situations by early childhood. Discussion The findings indicate that a moderately stable disposition toward prosociality is already evident during early ontogeny. Moreover, different subtypes of prosocial behavior are distinct yet interrelated in the early years, suggesting they have both common and unique underlying mechanisms. Lastly, young children's spontaneous (versus cued) prosocial action appears to reflect both motivational and cognitive processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yael Paz
- The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Maayan Davidov
- The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Tal Orlitsky
- The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Mor Hayut
- The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ronit Roth-Hanania
- School of Behavioral Sciences, Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Israel
| | - Carolyn Zahn-Waxler
- Center for Healthy Minds and Department of Psychology, Center for Healthy Minds and Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
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Young children's cooperation and conflict with other children. ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2022; 63:225-248. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2022.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Giner Torréns M, Dreizler K, Kärtner J. Insight into toddlers' motivation to help: From social participants to prosocial contributors. Infant Behav Dev 2021; 64:101603. [PMID: 34214921 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Revised: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/19/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
What drives toddlers' helping behavior? And do toddlers' helping motivations change across time? In line with Dahl and Paulus (2019), we propose that initially, toddlers start helping in ongoing chores driven by their interest in social interactions, and, later on, their helping becomes more concern based, or based on a sense of responsibility. To test this assumption, we used a longitudinal approach to examine the role that social interaction plays in toddlers' motivation to help as they grow older. As such, we investigated whether a disruption to an experimenter during a shared chore task affected toddlers' motivations to continue helping at the ages of 18, 21 and 24 months. Results showed that toddlers at 18 months were less likely to continue helping when the experimenter was disrupted from the shared task, in comparison to toddlers at 21 and at 24 months. These findings support the idea that toddlers develop from socially based participators into more prosocially based contributors.
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Helping as prosocial practice: Longitudinal relations among children's shyness, helping behavior, and empathic response. J Exp Child Psychol 2021; 209:105154. [PMID: 34087602 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Revised: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Although shyness has been found to be a concurrent constraint on young children's empathy and instrumental helping, there is limited evidence to suggest that this temperamental profile has longitudinal effects on prosocial behaviors. Here, we examined the concurrent and longitudinal relations between children's shyness and prosocial behaviors, as well as the intervening impact of instrumental helping behavior on later empathic response in typically developing children (N = 86; 45 female). Shyness was coded from direct observations and reported by parents at Time 1 (Mage = 54.3 months, SD = 2.9), Time 2 (Mage = 66.5 months, SD = 2.8), and Time 3 (Mage = 77.9 months, SD = 2.8), helping behavior was assessed at Time 2, and data on cognitive and affective empathy were collected at Time 3. Increases in shyness resulted in longitudinal reductions of affective empathy but not cognitive empathy or instrumental helping. As well, Time 2 helping behavior mediated the relation between Time 1 shyness and Time 3 affective empathy and, to some extent, the relation between Time 2 shyness and Time 3 affective empathy. These findings suggest that shyness concurrently impedes early helping behaviors, and that this withdrawal may contribute to reductions in shy children's prosocial learning opportunities that inform later empathic responses.
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Myslinska Szarek K, Tanas Ł. I scratched your back; should you not scratch mine? The expectation of reciprocity in 4- to 6-year-old children following a prosocial investment. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2021.1918095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Łukasz Tanas
- Department of Psychology in Sopot, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Sopot, Poland
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Brazzelli E, Grazzani I, Pepe A. Promoting prosocial behavior in toddlerhood: A conversation-based intervention at nursery. J Exp Child Psychol 2020; 204:105056. [PMID: 33341017 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2020.105056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Revised: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The awareness that prosocial skills begin to develop during the early years, with lasting implications for social lives, underpins increasing efforts to find ways of promoting prosocial behavior in children. Nevertheless, few such intervention studies have been conducted with toddlers in educational settings. Following the line of inquiry that examines the role of conversation about inner states in the early development of socioemotional competence, the current study makes an original contribution by evaluating the efficacy of a conversational intervention (TEPP, Toddlers Empathy Prosociality Program) in fostering prosocial conduct in young children. A total of 142 toddlers (Mage = 29.78 months, range = 22-36) participated in a 2-month program during which specially trained teachers read prosocial stories to small groups of children and then involved the children in conversations about inner states and prosocial behavior (Condition 1), in conversations about concrete actions and physical states (Condition 2), or in free play activities (Condition 3). Children in Condition 1 were found to outperform their peers in Conditions 2 and 3 on both direct and indirect measures of prosocial behavior. Gender had a further slight influence on the study outcomes. Overall, the results confirmed that intervention based on conversation about inner states and prosocial actions can enhance the development of prosocial skills in toddlers, encouraging the implementation of early education programs targeting prosociality among peers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Brazzelli
- Department of Human Sciences for Education "R. Massa", University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy.
| | - Ilaria Grazzani
- Department of Human Sciences for Education "R. Massa", University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
| | - Alessandro Pepe
- Department of Human Sciences for Education "R. Massa", University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
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Stout W, Karahuta E, Laible D, Brandone AC. A longitudinal study of the differential social-cognitive foundations of early prosocial behaviors. INFANCY 2020; 26:271-290. [PMID: 33332764 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2019] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
A growing body of work has documented the emergence of instrumental helping and sharing in the second year of life; however, less is known about mechanisms that underlie development and production of prosocial behavior. The current study took a longitudinal approach to explore whether the origins of prosocial behaviors can be traced back to foundational social-cognitive capacities emerging in infancy. In a sample of 90 children, longitudinal relations were examined between intention understanding and joint attention measured in infancy (8-12 months) and later instrumental helping and sharing behavior assessed in the toddler years (18-25 months). We expected social-cognitive capacities supporting infants' understanding of others to be positively related to their prosocial behaviors as toddlers. Measured variable path analyses revealed two distinct developmental pathways from infant social cognition to later prosocial behavior: 1) Instrumental helping in the toddler years was positively predicted by intention understanding in infancy; 2) sharing in the toddler years was positively predicted by infants' initiating joint attention. These results lend support to proposals on the multidimensional nature of early prosocial behavior and offer the first longitudinal evidence that the origins of toddlers' prosocial behavior can be traced to social-cognitive capacities emerging in infancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wyntre Stout
- Department of Psychology, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA
| | - Erin Karahuta
- Department of Psychology, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA
| | - Deborah Laible
- Department of Psychology, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA
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Aitken J, Ruffman T, Taumoepeau M. Toddlers' Self-Recognition and Progression From Goal- to Emotion-Based Helping: A Longitudinal Study. Child Dev 2019; 91:1219-1236. [PMID: 31429069 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Research has typically used cross-sectional designs to draw conclusions on the development of helping. This study aimed to examine the development of instrumental and empathic helping behaviors as they emerge, and assess how self-recognition might moderate this progression. Seventy-two children (14- to 25-months at T1) were assessed over four monthly sessions. Participants' individual response patterns showed instrumental helping to be a necessary precursor to empathic helping for 55.77%-67.92% of children who helped during the study. Self-recognition emerged before empathic but not instrumental helping, yet did not directly influence helping behavior.
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Hepach R, Vaish A, Müller K, Tomasello M. The relation between young children's physiological arousal and their motivation to help others. Neuropsychologia 2019; 126:113-119. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2017] [Revised: 08/28/2017] [Accepted: 10/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Giner Torréns M, Kärtner J. Affiliation motivates children’s prosocial behaviors: Relating helping and comforting to imitation. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/sode.12357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Joscha Kärtner
- Lab of Developmental Psychology University of Münster Münster Germany
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Kärtner J. Beyond dichotomies — (m)others' structuring and the development of toddlers' prosocial behavior across cultures. Curr Opin Psychol 2018; 20:6-10. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.07.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2017] [Revised: 06/20/2017] [Accepted: 07/31/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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The multidimensional nature of early prosocial behavior: a motivational perspective. Curr Opin Psychol 2018; 20:111-116. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2017] [Revised: 08/28/2017] [Accepted: 09/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Waugh WE, Brownell CA. "Help Yourself!" What Can Toddlers' Helping Failures Tell Us About the Development of Prosocial Behavior? INFANCY 2017; 22:665-680. [PMID: 33158336 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2016] [Revised: 03/17/2017] [Accepted: 03/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Prosocial behavior emerges in the second year of life, yet it is typical for children in this period not to share, comfort, or help. We compared toddlers (18, 30 months) who helped with those who did not help on two tasks (instrumental helping; empathic helping). More than half of children failed to help on one or both tasks. Nonhelpers engaged in more hypothesis testing on the instrumental helping task, but more security-seeking, wariness, and playing on the empathic helping task. Across tasks, children who tended to engage in nonhelping behaviors associated with negative emotional arousal also tended to seek comfort from a parent. In contrast, children who tended to play instead of helping were less likely to exhibit negative emotional arousal or hypothesis testing, suggesting a focus on their own interests. Parents of 18-month-old nonhelpers on the instrumental task were less engaged in socializing prosocial behavior in their toddlers than were the parents of helpers. On the empathic helping task, 18-month-old nonhelpers had less mature self-other understanding than did helpers. By examining how the predominant reasons for failing to help vary with age and task, we gain a fuller perspective on the factors involved in the early development of prosocial behavior.
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Giner Torréns M, Kärtner J. The Influence of Socialization on Early Helping From a Cross-Cultural Perspective. JOURNAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1177/0022022117690451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
This cross-cultural study examines, first, whether 18-month-olds’ helping behavior differs between cultures and, second, the way in which caregivers’ socialization goals and practices are associated with toddlers’ helping behavior. Helping behavior was assessed in three out-of-reach tasks with increasing motivational demands. We found that Delhi toddlers ( n = 32) helped more than Münster toddlers ( n = 60). Regarding socialization practices (SPs), Delhi mothers, compared with Münster mothers, reported to provide more opportunities to help in the family context and to praise less when fostering toddlers’ prosocial behavior. Furthermore, Delhi mothers reported to use more punitive practices after their children did not follow a helping request. On an intra-cultural level, we found that helping was positively associated with punitive practices in the Delhi sample, whereas helping was negatively related with punitive practices and providing opportunities to help in Münster. On the basis of these results, we first propose that culture affects toddlers’ helping behavior from the time of emergence during the second year. Second, we propose that the culture-specific conceptions of prosocial behavior influence which SPs parents use, which, in turn, may influence children’s motivation underlying early prosocial behavior.
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Schuhmacher N, Collard J, Kärtner J. The Differential role of parenting, peers, and temperament for explaining interindividual differences in 18-months-olds’ comforting and helping. Infant Behav Dev 2017; 46:124-134. [DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2017.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2016] [Revised: 01/13/2017] [Accepted: 01/13/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Giner Torréns M, Kärtner J. Psychometric properties of the early prosocial behaviour questionnaire. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2016.1259107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marta Giner Torréns
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Joscha Kärtner
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
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20
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Köster M, Ohmer X, Nguyen TD, Kärtner J. Infants Understand Others’ Needs. Psychol Sci 2016; 27:542-8. [DOI: 10.1177/0956797615627426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2015] [Accepted: 12/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Infants begin to help other individuals in the second year of life. However, it is still unclear whether early helping behavior is based on an understanding of other individuals’ needs and is thus motivated prosocially. In the present eye-tracking study, 9- to 18-month-old infants ( N = 71) saw a character in need of help, unable to reach its goal because of an obstacle, and a second character that was able to achieve a goal on its own. When a third individual (a helper) initiated an action, the infants expected the helper to help the character in need (as indicated during the anticipatory-looking and violation-of-expectation phases). Their prosocial understanding did not differ between age groups and was not related to their helping behavior (measured in two behavioral tasks). Thus, infants understand other individuals’ needs even before they start to help others themselves. This indicates that early helping may indeed be motivated prosocially and raises the question of which other competences underlie the ontogeny of helping behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moritz Köster
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Münster
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabrück
| | - Xenia Ohmer
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabrück
| | | | - Joscha Kärtner
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Münster
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Gross RL, Drummond J, Satlof-Bedrick E, Waugh WE, Svetlova M, Brownell CA. Individual differences in toddlers' social understanding and prosocial behavior: disposition or socialization? Front Psychol 2015; 6:600. [PMID: 26029139 PMCID: PMC4426688 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2014] [Accepted: 05/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We examined how individual differences in social understanding contribute to variability in early-appearing prosocial behavior. Moreover, potential sources of variability in social understanding were explored and examined as additional possible predictors of prosocial behavior. Using a multi-method approach with both observed and parent-report measures, 325 children aged 18-30 months were administered measures of social understanding (e.g., use of emotion words; self-understanding), prosocial behavior (in separate tasks measuring instrumental helping, empathic helping, and sharing, as well as parent-reported prosociality at home), temperament (fearfulness, shyness, and social fear), and parental socialization of prosocial behavior in the family. Individual differences in social understanding predicted variability in empathic helping and parent-reported prosociality, but not instrumental helping or sharing. Parental socialization of prosocial behavior was positively associated with toddlers' social understanding, prosocial behavior at home, and instrumental helping in the lab, and negatively associated with sharing (possibly reflecting parents' increased efforts to encourage children who were less likely to share). Further, socialization moderated the association between social understanding and prosocial behavior, such that social understanding was less predictive of prosocial behavior among children whose parents took a more active role in socializing their prosociality. None of the dimensions of temperament was associated with either social understanding or prosocial behavior. Parental socialization of prosocial behavior is thus an important source of variability in children's early prosociality, acting in concert with early differences in social understanding, with different patterns of influence for different subtypes of prosocial behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebekkah L. Gross
- Early Social Development Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PAUSA
| | - Jesse Drummond
- Early Social Development Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PAUSA
| | - Emma Satlof-Bedrick
- Early Social Development Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PAUSA
| | - Whitney E. Waugh
- Early Social Development Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PAUSA
| | - Margarita Svetlova
- Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, LeipzigGermany
| | - Celia A. Brownell
- Early Social Development Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PAUSA
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Schuhmacher N, Kärtner J. Explaining interindividual differences in toddlers' collaboration with unfamiliar peers: individual, dyadic, and social factors. Front Psychol 2015; 6:493. [PMID: 25983696 PMCID: PMC4416470 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2015] [Accepted: 04/07/2015] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
During their third year of life, toddlers become increasingly skillful at coordinating their actions with peer partners and they form joint commitments in collaborative situations. However, little effort has been made to explain interindividual differences in collaboration among toddlers. Therefore, we examined the relative influence of distinct individual, dyadic, and social factors on toddlers' collaborative activities (i.e., level of coordination and preference for joint activity) in joint problem-solving situations with unfamiliar peer partners (n = 23 dyads aged M = 35.7 months). We analyzed the dyadic nonindependent data with mixed models. Results indicated that mothers' expectations regarding their children's social behaviors significantly predicted toddlers' level of coordination. Furthermore, the models revealed that toddlers' positive mutual experiences with the unfamiliar partner assessed during an initial free play period (Phase 1) and their level of coordination in an obligatory collaboration task (Phase 2) promoted toddlers' preference for joint activity in a subsequent optional collaboration task (Phase 3). In contrast, children's mastery motivation and shyness conflicted with their collaborative efforts. We discuss the role of parents' socialization goals in toddlers' development toward becoming active collaborators and discuss possible mechanisms underlying the differences in toddlers' commitment to joint activities, namely social preferences and the trust in reliable cooperation partners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nils Schuhmacher
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of MünsterMünster, Germany
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