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Shoshani A. The roots of compassion in early childhood: Relationships between theory of mind and attachment representations with empathic concern and prosocial behavior. J Exp Child Psychol 2024; 242:105880. [PMID: 38368743 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2024.105880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
This study focused on attachment representations and theory of mind as potential developmental origins of individual differences in preschoolers' peer- and adult-directed empathic concern and prosocial behavior. In two experiments, 3- to 6-year-olds were exposed to either a high-distressed or low-distressed adult or child using a laboratory setting (Experiment 1; N = 263) or hypothetical vignettes (Experiment 2; N = 202). Self-reported and coded expressions of empathic concern and prosocial behaviors were used as early indicators of compassion. The findings indicated that children expressed more empathic concern and engaged in more prosocial behavior in the high-distress condition than in the low-distress condition. Children's empathic concern and prosocial behavior increased with age. Secure attachment and theory of mind abilities played significant moderating roles in the association between distress conditions and empathic concern. Children with more advanced theory of mind abilities and secure attachment were better at recognizing the concerns of distressed peers or adults and showed significantly more empathic concern. Resistant and disorganized children exhibited more self-distress in response to others' distress. The implications for early interventions directed at increasing empathic concern and prosocial behavior are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anat Shoshani
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University (IDC Herzliya), Herzliya 46150, Israel.
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2
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Kelsey CM, Fasman A, Quigley K, Dickerson K, Enlow MB, Nelson CA. Context-dependent approach and avoidance behavioral profiles as predictors of psychopathology. Dev Sci 2024; 27:e13469. [PMID: 38111180 PMCID: PMC10997460 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13469] [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: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023]
Abstract
Inhibition (a temperamental profile characterized by elevated levels of avoidance behaviors) is associated with increased likelihood for developing anxiety and depression, whereas exuberance (a temperamental profile characterized by elevated levels of approach behaviors) is associated with increased likelihood for developing externalizing conditions (e.g., attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder). However, not all children who exhibit high levels of approach or avoidance behaviors develop emotional or behavioral problems. In this preregistered study, we assessed context-dependent profiles of approach and avoidance behaviors in 3-year-old children (N = 366). Using latent profile analysis, four groups were identified: nonsocial approachers, social approachers, social avoiders, and nonsocial avoiders. Analyses revealed that there were minimal differences in internalizing and externalizing symptoms across the four context-dependent groups. However, exploratory analyses assessed whether high levels of approach or avoidance combined across contexts, similar to findings reported in prior work, were related to psychopathology. Children identified as high in avoidance behavior at 3 years of age were more likely to show internalizing symptoms at 3 years of age but not at 5 years of age. Children high in approach were more likely to meet criteria for anxiety and externalizing disorders by age 5 years. These findings further our understanding of individual differences in how young children adjust their behavior based on contextual cues and may inform methods for identifying children at increased likelihood for the development of emotional and behavioral problems. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Context-dependent approach and avoidance profiles were identified in 3-year-old children using a person-centered approach. Children who were high in approach behavior, regardless of context, at age three had a higher likelihood for developing an anxiety or externalizing disorder by age five. These findings may help identify children at increased risk of developing emotional and behavioral problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline M. Kelsey
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Anna Fasman
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Kelsey Quigley
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Kelli Dickerson
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Michelle Bosquet Enlow
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Charles A. Nelson
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, United States
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3
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Kopp KS, Kanngiesser P, Brügger RK, Daum MM, Gampe A, Köster M, van Schaik CP, Liebal K, Burkart JM. The proximate regulation of prosocial behaviour: towards a conceptual framework for comparative research. Anim Cogn 2024; 27:5. [PMID: 38429436 PMCID: PMC10907469 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01846-w] [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: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 10/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Humans and many other animal species act in ways that benefit others. Such prosocial behaviour has been studied extensively across a range of disciplines over the last decades, but findings to date have led to conflicting conclusions about prosociality across and even within species. Here, we present a conceptual framework to study the proximate regulation of prosocial behaviour in humans, non-human primates and potentially other animals. We build on psychological definitions of prosociality and spell out three key features that need to be in place for behaviour to count as prosocial: benefitting others, intentionality, and voluntariness. We then apply this framework to review observational and experimental studies on sharing behaviour and targeted helping in human children and non-human primates. We show that behaviours that are usually subsumed under the same terminology (e.g. helping) can differ substantially across and within species and that some of them do not fulfil our criteria for prosociality. Our framework allows for precise mapping of prosocial behaviours when retrospectively evaluating studies and offers guidelines for future comparative work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathrin S Kopp
- Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Patricia Kanngiesser
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Rahel K Brügger
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Moritz M Daum
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Anja Gampe
- Institute of Socio-Economics, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany
| | - Moritz Köster
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Carel P van Schaik
- Department of Evolutionary Biology & Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Katja Liebal
- Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Judith M Burkart
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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4
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Li S, Liu J, Pan Y, Chen X. The Longitudinal Relationship between Parent-Child Attachment and Adolescents' Gratitude: The Mediating Role of Perceived Parental Communal Strength. J Youth Adolesc 2023; 52:2661-2671. [PMID: 37679530 DOI: 10.1007/s10964-023-01857-9] [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: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
Previous research has found a significant association between parent-child attachment and gratitude, while the directionality of this association and its potential mechanisms remain unclear. This study examined the longitudinal associations between parent-child attachment, gratitude, and perceived parental communal strength, which is adolescents' perception of their parents' willingness to make sacrifices to provide care and meet their needs. A total of 1348 adolescents and one of their parents (Mage = 12.96, SD = 0.70 years; 51.3% girls) participated in this three-wave study, with a six-month lag. The results of the cross-lagged panel models showed that attachment anxiety and avoidance negatively predicted adolescents' gratitude after six months. Perceived parental communal strength mediated the longitudinal effects of attachment anxiety and avoidance on gratitude. However, the impact of gratitude on perceived parental communal strength and parent-child attachment was non-significant. The findings suggest that adolescents with insecure parent-child attachment have negative perceptions of their parents, which could contribute to their lack of gratitude. Adolescents' negative perceptions of their parents are crucial for understanding the mechanisms underlying the lack of gratitude observed in adolescents with insecure parent-child attachment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song Li
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Junjun Liu
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Education, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637002, China
| | - Yangu Pan
- Research Institute of Social Development, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Xu Chen
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.
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5
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Hashim N, Fischer NL, Kim EB, Yeung WJJ, Yu R. The influence of socioeconomic status and appearance-reality understanding on pre-schoolers' sharing and generosity. BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 41:325-342. [PMID: 37114745 DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Prosocial behaviour can be defined as any voluntary action that is performed to benefit another individual. Despite accumulating evidence of the importance of environmental variables (e.g., socioeconomic status; SES), and individual characteristics (e.g., theory of mind - ToM - skills), in influencing prosocial behaviours in young children, it is unknown how these factors relate to the underlying motivations for prosocial behaviours. Accordingly, both extrinsically (sharing) and intrinsically (generosity)-guided prosocial behaviours are measured in this study. We explore the influences of SES and ToM skills on young children's sharing behaviour and generosity, while controlling their age, working memory and language skills. Sixty-six 4- to 6 year olds (Mage = 5.24 years, SD = 0.73) from diverse SES (measured by parental education level) and ethnic backgrounds in Singapore completed tasks assessing the ToM measures of false belief and appearance-reality understanding, working memory, language skills, generosity, and sharing behaviour. The results of hierarchical regression analyses demonstrate that the father's education level and children's appearance-reality understanding were significant predictors of sharing, after controlling for age, working memory, language skills, and the mother's education level. Children's appearance-reality understanding was the sole predictor of children's generosity. Our findings highlight the impact of children's ability to hold different views of reality and their family's education levels on the development of sharing and generosity in early childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nawal Hashim
- Centre for Family and Population Research, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore
| | - Nastassja L Fischer
- Centre for Family and Population Research, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore
- Centre for Research and Development in Learning (CRADLE), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore City, Singapore
| | - Elizabeth B Kim
- Centre for Family and Population Research, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore
- Centre for Research in Child Development, National Institute of Education, Singapore City, Singapore
| | - Wei-Jun Jean Yeung
- Centre for Family and Population Research, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore
- Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore
| | - Rongjun Yu
- Centre for Family and Population Research, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore
- Department of Management, Marketing, and Information Systems, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
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Becher T, Essler S, Pletti C, Paulus M. Compliance or empathy-What links maternal sensitivity and toddlers' emotional helping? J Exp Child Psychol 2023; 226:105547. [PMID: 36194901 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Emotional helping-that is, helping based on others' emotional distress-has been suggested to be a central prosocial response to others in need. Developmental theorizing proposed that emotional helping has social origins. Whereas research indeed demonstrated a link between maternal sensitivity and children's emotional helping, developmental theories stress different mediating processes. Emotion-sharing theories claim empathic concern to be the crucial link for helping, whereas internalization theories base children's helping on children's compliance. To investigate these hypotheses, the current study explored empathy and compliance as two possible mediators for the relation between maternal sensitivity and children's emotional helping at 18 months of age. Overall, maternal sensitivity was positively related to children's empathy, children's compliance, and children's emotional helping. Interestingly, children's empathy-but not children's compliance-mediated the link between maternal sensitivity and children's emotional helping. These findings deepen our understanding of the psychological processes subserving emotional helping during infancy and support theories that stress the socioemotional origins of children's prosocial behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamara Becher
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80802 Munich, Germany.
| | - Samuel Essler
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80802 Munich, Germany; FOM University of Applied Sciences, 45127 Essen, Germany
| | - Carolina Pletti
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80802 Munich, Germany
| | - Markus Paulus
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80802 Munich, Germany
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Elhusseini S, Rawn K, El-Sheikh M, Keller PS. Attachment and prosocial behavior in middle childhood: The role of emotion regulation. J Exp Child Psychol 2023; 225:105534. [PMID: 36030640 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2021] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
There is a lack of research on the development of prosocial behavior in middle childhood. The current study addressed this gap through the application of attachment theory; attachment security has been shown to promote prosocial behavior in early childhood, and emotion regulation may be an important intervening variable in this association. A sample of 199 children (aged 6-12 years) reported on their attachment internal working models for the mother-child and father-child relationships, parents reported on child emotion regulation and emotional lability/dysregulation, and children completed a sticker donation task to assess their prosocial behavior. Child emotional lability/dysregulation served as an intervening variable in the association between father-child attachment security (communication and trust) and greater sticker donation. Mother-child and father-child attachment security was also associated with child emotion regulation, but emotion regulation was not associated with sticker donation. Findings suggest that secure attachment may foster prosocial behavior toward peers in middle childhood primarily by reducing dysregulated responses to the distress of others.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kyle Rawn
- University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
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Stern JA, Dunbar AS, Cassidy J. Pathways to emotion regulation in young Black children: An attachment perspective. ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2022; 64:163-188. [PMID: 37080668 PMCID: PMC10763371 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2022.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Attachment theory proposes that a central function of caregivers is to provide protection and co-regulation of children's distress in the context of threat, and that children's secure attachment (confidence in a secure base/safe haven when needed) precipitates positive developmental cascades in part by supporting children's emotion regulation. Yet the field of attachment has rarely considered the unique experiences of African American families, including the context of systemic racism in which caregivers must provide physical and emotional protection for their children, and in which children must learn to regulate emotion across different sociocultural contexts (emotional flexibility and "code-switching"; Dunbar et al., 2022a; Lozada et al., 2022; Stern et al., 2022b). This chapter brings attachment theory into conversation with the field of positive Black youth development to explore pathways to emotion regulation in African American children during early childhood. In doing so, we (a) highlight the strengths of African American caregivers in providing unique and specific forms of protection via racial and emotional socialization; (b) review research on predictors and consequences of secure caregiver-child relationships in Black families, with a focus on the outcome of child emotion regulation; (c) present a theoretical framework for understanding cascades of positive Black youth development via healthy relationships and emotion regulation; and (d) outline promising new directions for more inclusive and just attachment research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica A Stern
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States.
| | - Angel S Dunbar
- Department of African American Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Jude Cassidy
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States
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Priming attachment and diversity ideologies: Effects on ethnic bias in children's altruistic sharing in a dictator game. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2022; 230:103746. [PMID: 36122478 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Children often show a positive ingroup bias in altruistic behaviors such as sharing. Insight in factors related to ethnic bias in sharing can help towards understanding the origins of inequality in the distribution of resources in society. The present study examined the effect of priming secure attachment (versus positive affect) and multiculturalism (versus color-evasiveness) on ingroup bias in dominant ethnic group children's altruistic sharing. One hundred twenty-five White Dutch children (45 % boys, 55 % girls) between 7 and 11 years old (Mage = 8.47, SDage = 0.87) participated in a Dictator game after being primed. The Dictator game was played against three same-gender children with different ethnic backgrounds (White, Black, Middle Eastern). Results support the idea that priming secure attachment and multiculturalism can decrease ingroup bias in dominant ethnic group children's altruistic sharing, although the effects do not strengthen each other and are effective in situations with different trade-offs and interaction partners. Future research is needed to disentangle the effectiveness of secure attachment and multiculturalism messages in different sharing situations and with interaction partners with different ethnic backgrounds. Results from the present study provide starting points from which to further examine which messages potentially positively impact children's interethnic relations.
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Brett BE, Stern JA, Gross JT, Cassidy J. Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Preschoolers' Helping, Sharing, and Comforting: The Moderating Role of Child Attachment. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL FOR THE SOCIETY OF CLINICAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY, AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, DIVISION 53 2022; 51:623-636. [PMID: 32228318 PMCID: PMC8215845 DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2020.1738235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Maternal depressive symptoms (MDS) are inconsistently associated with lower rates of child prosocial behavior. Studies typically examine prosocial behavior as a unitary construct rather than examining its multiple dimensions, and rarely consider how the quality of the parent-child relationship could influence this association.Objective: The current study examines whether the security of the parent-child attachment relationship moderates the association between MDS and children's helping, sharing, and comforting behaviors.Method: Participants were 164 low-income, majority African American mothers and their preschool-aged children recruited from Head Start centers. Mothers reported the frequency of depressive symptoms at baseline; child attachment security and helping, sharing, and comforting behavior were observationally assessed 5 to 8 months later.Results: Moderation analyses revealed a positive main effect of security (but not MDS) on children's comforting behavior, a main effect of MDS on sharing, and no main effects of MDS or security on children's helping behaviors. Significant interactions between MDS and security predicted comforting and (marginally) helping behaviors, such that MDS were associated with both more helping and more comforting behavior only when children were more secure. No such interaction was observed for sharing.Conclusions: These findings suggest that children may adapt to maternal depressive symptoms in prosocial ways, but that this depends at least in part on the quality of the parent-child relationship, underscoring the importance of examining attachment quality as a moderator of parental influences on children's social-emotional development. We discuss potential explanations for these findings, as well as their implications for intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Jude Cassidy
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland
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11
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Représentations d'attachement, comportements extériorisés et pro-sociaux d'enfants ayant vécu de la maltraitance et issus de la population générale. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF TRAUMA & DISSOCIATION 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejtd.2022.100284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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12
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Attachment and the Development of Prosocial Behavior in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. CHILDREN 2022; 9:children9060874. [PMID: 35740811 PMCID: PMC9222107 DOI: 10.3390/children9060874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
(1) Background: One key assumption of attachment theory is the relationship between security and the development of prosocial behavior. A secure child is more likely to feel and show concern for another individual, resulting in higher levels of prosocial behaviors (defined as voluntary behavior intended to benefit others—e.g., helping, sharing, comforting). (2) Method: Using a systematic review of the literature (PROSPERO: CRD42022290706), 703 articles were identified (EBSCO databases), from which 16 were considered eligible by the first two authors (inter-reviewer agreement: 85.714%). The criteria for an article’s exclusion were as follows: samples of children/teens not living in natural contexts; studies on psychopathologies; intervention programs; qualitative designs; studies on development or the validation of measures; studies that did not reliably measure the variables studied. (3) Results and Discussion: The eligible studies revealed incongruous results about the potential associations between attachment security to mothers and fathers and prosocial behavior. More consistent and significant relationships were found between the quality of attachment and empathy, while the associations between attachment and prosocial behavior were inconsistent (e.g., nine articles revealed significant associations; seven did not). In six studies, empathy was revealed to play an important role as the mediator between attachment security and prosocial behavior. The limitations and future recommendations were discussed.
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Abstract
Already as infants humans are more fearful than our closest living primate relatives, the chimpanzees. Yet heightened fearfulness is mostly considered maladaptive, as it is thought to increase the risk of developing anxiety and depression. How can this human fear paradox be explained? The fearful ape hypothesis presented herein stipulates that, in the context of cooperative caregiving and provisioning unique to human great ape group life, heightened fearfulness was adaptive. This is because from early in ontogeny fearfulness expressed and perceived enhanced care-based responding and provisioning from, while concurrently increasing cooperation with, mothers and others. This explanation is based on a synthesis of existing research with human infants and children, demonstrating a link between fearfulness, greater sensitivity to and accuracy in detecting fear in others, and enhanced levels of cooperative behaviors. These insights critically advance current evolutionary theories of human cooperation by adding an early-developing affective component to the human cooperative makeup. Moreover, the current proposal has important cultural, societal, and health implications, as it challenges the predominant view in Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies that commonly construe fearfulness as a maladaptive trait, potentially ignoring its evolutionary adaptive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Grossmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
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14
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Song Y, Broekhuizen M, Dubas JS. A three‐wave study on the development of prosocial behaviours across toddlerhood: The role of socialization. INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/icd.2289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yue Song
- Developmental Psychology Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Martine Broekhuizen
- Child, Family, and Education Studies Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands
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15
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Coulombe BR, Yates TM. Maternal caregiving, prosocial behavior, and self‐esteem in middle childhood. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/sode.12576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Tuppett M. Yates
- Department of Psychology University of California Riverside United States
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16
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An D, Kochanska G, Yeager N, Sivagurunathan N, Praska R, Campbell R, Shin SY. Children's emerging receptive, positive orientation toward their parents in the network of early attachment relationships. Attach Hum Dev 2021; 23:687-709. [PMID: 33821755 PMCID: PMC8492794 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2021.1906722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Early security plays a major role in inaugurating the child's receptive, positive orientation - a foundation for cooperative parent-child relationships and successful socialization. However, few studies have considered the association between children's attachments with both mothers and fathers and multiple aspects of children's receptive, positive orientation, or compared all four attachment groups (secure, avoidant, resistant, and disorganized). In 192 mother-child and 186 father-child dyads from community families, children's attachment was assessed at 15-17 months in Strange Situation Paradigm. Aspects of receptive, positive orientation toward each parent - positive affect, committed compliance, empathic concern, and restraint in response to parental prohibition - were observed in naturalistic laboratory contexts. Generally, securely attached children were more receptive and positive than insecure, although specific effects depended on the measure, comparison group (avoidant, resistant, disorganized), and the relationship (mother- or father-child). For positive orientation in the father-child dyads, being secure with both parents conferred a modest additional benefit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danming An
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Grazyna Kochanska
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Nicole Yeager
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | | | - Rochelle Praska
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Robin Campbell
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Sung Yi Shin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
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Stern JA, Barbarin O, Cassidy J. Working toward anti-racist perspectives in attachment theory, research, and practice. Attach Hum Dev 2021; 24:392-422. [PMID: 34528474 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2021.1976933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Recent social movements have illuminated systemic inequities in U.S. society, including within the social sciences. Thus, it is essential that attachment researchers and practitioners engage in reflection and action to work toward anti-racist perspectives in the field. Our aims in this paper are (1) to share the generative conversations and debates that arose in preparing the Special Issue of Attachment & Human Development, "Attachment Perspectives on Race, Prejudice, and Anti-Racism"; and (2) to propose key considerations for working toward anti-racist perspectives in the field of attachment. We provide recommendations for enriching attachment theory (e.g. considering relations between caregivers' racial-ethnic socialization and secure base provision), research (e.g. increasing the representation of African American researchers and participants), and practice (e.g. advocating for policies that reduce systemic inequities in family supports). Finally, we suggest two relevant models integrating attachment theory with perspectives from Black youth development as guides for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica A Stern
- Department Of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, United States
| | - Oscar Barbarin
- Department Of African American Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, United States.,Department Of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, United States
| | - Jude Cassidy
- Department Of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, United States
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Iwinski S, Cole NC, Saltzman JA, Donovan SM, Lee SY, Fiese BH, Bost KK. Child attachment behavior as a moderator of the relation between feeding responsiveness and picky eating behavior. Eat Behav 2021; 40:101465. [PMID: 33310487 PMCID: PMC10796209 DOI: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2020.101465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Revised: 11/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/22/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Picky eating (PE) behavior is common in early childhood, but persistent PE is associated with unhealthy development and caregiver-child stress during feeding. Identifying modifiable feeding and parent-child relationship factors that impact PE is important for decreasing risks associated with PE. OBJECTIVE This study examined associations between caregiver Feeding Responsiveness (FR) and child PE behaviors using caregiver reports and observations of family mealtimes. An additional aim examined whether children's attachment behavior moderates this association. METHODS The analysis sample consisted of 110 families participating in a larger longitudinal study of nutrition and child health. Home observations were conducted when children were 18-24 months (52% females) to assess caregiver-child interactions. Caregivers were, on average, 30.9 years old and mostly White (73.6%). Family mealtimes were videotaped and coded for FR and child PE behaviors. Caregivers completed surveys regarding FR and PE behaviors. RESULTS Caregiver-reported FR was significantly correlated with observed FR, r (107) = 0.26, p = 0.007; and caregiver-reported PE was associated with observed PE, r (107) = 0.21, p = 0.029. Caregiver-reported FR was inversely related to observed PE, but only when children were characterized by observers to have more positively toned and smooth interactions with caregivers. Using observational data, child attachment significantly moderated the relationship between FR and PE behaviors. CONCLUSIONS The quality of caregiver-child interactions may impact the degree to which FR is effective in reducing PE. Future longitudinal studies that include more diverse populations, multiple caregivers, and potential mechanisms accounting for these associations are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Iwinski
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States of America.
| | - Natasha Chong Cole
- Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States of America
| | - Jaclyn A Saltzman
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States of America; The MITRE Corporation, Bedford, MA, United States of America
| | - Sharon M Donovan
- Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States of America; Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States of America
| | - Soo-Yeun Lee
- Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States of America; Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States of America
| | - Barbara H Fiese
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States of America
| | - Kelly K Bost
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States of America
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Aeschlimann S, Bleiker M, Wechner M, Gampe A. Communicative and social consequences of interactions with voice assistants. COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2020.106466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Stern JA, Botdorf M, Cassidy J, Riggins T. Empathic responding and hippocampal volume in young children. Dev Psychol 2020; 55:1908-1920. [PMID: 31464494 DOI: 10.1037/dev0000684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Empathic responding-the capacity to understand, resonate with, and respond sensitively to others' emotional experiences-is a complex human faculty that calls upon multiple social, emotional, and cognitive capacities and their underlying neural systems. Emerging evidence in adults has suggested that the hippocampus and its associated network may play an important role in empathic responding, possibly via processes such as memory of emotional events, but the contribution of this structure in early childhood is unknown. We examined concurrent associations between empathic responding and hippocampal volume in a sample of 78 children (ages 4-8 years). Larger bilateral hippocampal volume (adjusted for intracranial volume) predicted greater observed empathic responses toward an experimenter in distress, but only for boys. The association was not driven by a specific subregion of the hippocampus (head, body, tail), nor did it vary with age. Empathic responding was not significantly related to amygdala volume, suggesting specificity of relations with the hippocampus. Results support the proposal that hippocampal structure contributes to individual differences in children's empathic responding, consistent with research in adults. Findings shed light on an understudied structure in the complex neural systems supporting empathic responding and raise new questions regarding sex differences in the neurodevelopment of empathy in early childhood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica A Stern
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park
| | - Morgan Botdorf
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park
| | - Jude Cassidy
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park
| | - Tracy Riggins
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park
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Helping, fast and slow: Exploring intuitive cooperation in early ontogeny. Cognition 2019; 196:104144. [PMID: 31765923 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2019.104144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Revised: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Cooperative behavior is central to human societies. Human adults who reach their cooperative decisions more rapidly and independently of cognitive control display greater levels of prosocial behavior. This is taken to show that cooperation is guided by intuitive processes rather than by active control of selfish impulses. The current study investigated the emergence of intuitive cooperation in early human ontogeny. We measured helping behavior (latency and frequency) in a longitudinal sample of infants at ages 14 and 18 months. Between 14 and 18 months, the frequency of helping significantly increased and latency to help significantly decreased, suggesting advances in helping behavior during this period of development. Moreover, at 18 months and to some extent, even at 14 months, infants who helped more rapidly (as indexed by a shorter latency) acted more prosocially (as indexed by a greater frequency of helping) than infants who were slower to help. This link between latency and frequency of prosocial behavior was independent of infants' ability for inhibitory control and general sociability levels. Prosocial behavior thus begins to be governed by intuitive processes that operate independently of cognitive control early in human ontogeny. This informs our understanding of the nature and emergence of cooperative behavior by supporting accounts that assign a central role to intuition in the evolution of human cooperation.
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Learning prosociality: insights from young forager and subsistence farmer children’s food sharing with mothers and others. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2671-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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Dunfield KA, Best LJ, Kelley EA, Kuhlmeier VA. Motivating Moral Behavior: Helping, Sharing, and Comforting in Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Front Psychol 2019; 10:25. [PMID: 30728793 PMCID: PMC6351476 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This exploratory study examined the role of social-cognitive development in the production of moral behavior. Specifically, we explored the propensity of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to engage in helping, sharing, and comforting acts, addressing two specific questions: (1) Compared to their typically developing (TD) peers, how do young children with ASD perform on three prosocial tasks that require the recognition of different kinds of need (instrumental, material, and emotional), and (2) are children with ASD adept at distinguishing situations in which an adult needs assistance from perceptually similar situations in which the need is absent? Children with ASD demonstrated low levels of helping and sharing but provided comfort at levels consistent with their TD peers. Children with ASD also tended to differentiate situations where a need was present from situations in which it was absent. Together, these results provided an initial demonstration that young children with ASD have the ability to take another's perspective and represent their internal need states. However, when the cost of engaging in prosocial behavior is high (e.g., helping and sharing), children with ASD may be less inclined to engage in the behavior, suggesting that both the capacity to recognize another's need and the motivation to act on behalf of another appear to play important roles in the production of prosocial behavior. Further, differential responding on the helping, sharing, and comforting tasks lend support to current proposals that the domain of moral behavior is comprised of a variety of distinct subtypes of prosocial behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Laura J. Best
- Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada
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