3-063 - Exploring Motivational Influences on Prosocial Behavior in Children

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Prosocial actions such as sharing and cooperation emerge early in development. However, the reasons why children engage in these actions and the underlying motives of prosociality are often not apparent. In this symposium, social correlates and underlying motives of prosocial actions such as sharing and comforting are explored across a series of experiments.

In paper one, relationships between 3 to 6-year-old children’s own sharing, their expectations of how others would share, peer ratings of social status, and teacher reported strengths and difficulties were explored. Observed correlations are discussed. Paper two investigated relationships within and across advantageous and disadvantageous inequality trials longitudinally at 4 different time points: 4.5, 5, 5.5 and 6.5 years of age. Results suggest that motivations for equality change with age and differ depending on the type of inequality. Paper three explored how costs and benefits of cooperation influenced 4 to 8-year-old children’s ability to coordinate with a partner. Results suggest that children can strategically coordinate with a partner from an early age, yet do not always do so. Implications and factors negatively influencing cooperation are discussed. Finally, using a dictator game approach paper four explored whether 5-year-old children’s and adults other-oriented behaviour is geared towards reducing one’s own distress or benefiting another. Results demonstrated adults alone were sensitive to distance, suggesting interesting developmental changes in sharing motives. Together this body of research provides insight into what factors may motivate or influence prosociality in children. Importantly, such work may allow us to better support prosocial development in children

Sub Unit

• Moral Development

Chairs

• Chris Moore, Dalhousie University

• Amanda Williams Cook, Dalhousie University

Individual Presentations

• Sharing behavior and sharing expectations in the light of sociometric status and behavioral problems: A correlational study - Presenting Author: Monika Wörle, Ludwig Maximilians Universität, München; Markus Paulus, Ludwig Maximilians Universität, München

• A longitudinal exploration of advantageous and disadvantageous inequality aversion in children - Presenting Author: Amanda Williams Cook, Dalhousie University; Chris Moore, Dalhousie University

• Coordination games in children: Stag hunt and battle-of-the-sexes - Presenting Author: Keith Jensen, University of Manchester; Liam Pollock, Queen Mary, University of London

• Gone but not forgotten: The role of psychological distance on sharing behaviour - Presenting Author: Kristen Dunfield, Concordia University; Derek Dunfield, MIT and Planet Labs; Valerie Kuhlmeier, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario; Pamela McDonald, Queen's University