3-033 - Variability in Prosocial Behaviors: Social and Motivational Sources Across Cultures

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Prosocial behaviors vary between and within young children: Some children help more than others, and most children help in some situations but not in others. A crucial task for research on prosocial development is to explain these two kinds of variability. Including research from varies cultures, the current symposium brings together distinct theoretical and methodological approaches to the social and motivational sources of variation in prosocial behaviors. The presentations address two topics: (a) How do social contexts relate to toddlers’ and preschoolers’ prosocial behaviors (presentations 1 and 2); and (b) What motivates toddlers and preschoolers to engage in prosocial behaviors (presentations 3 and 4). The first presentation reports on how observing others’ helping behavior contributes to 16-month-olds’ own helping subsequently, indicating that social experience plays a role before age two. The second presentation reports on how parental values, goals, and parenting practices relate to 3- to 4-year-olds’ spontaneous and requested prosocial behaviors in three cultures (The Netherlands, India, and China). Results showed that only practices related to empathic helping and no culture differences was detected on these relationships. The third talk presents evidence that imitation of others’ behavior relates to 30-month-olds’ helping and comforting, suggesting that affiliation with others increases prosocial behaviors. The fourth presentation discusses findings on situational variation in judgments and reasoning about prosocial behaviors among preschoolers and adults, which likely guide decisions about whether to help others. Together, these studies show how socialization and motivation help explain individual and situational variability in young children’s developing prosociality.

Sub Unit

• Moral Development

Chairs

• Yue Song, Utrecht University

• Marta Giner Torréns, University of Münster

Individual Presentations

• The Imitation of Prosocial Activities in 16-month-olds – How Children Learn to Help Others - Presenting Author: Nils Schuhmacher, University of Münster; Non-Presenting Author: Moritz Köster, Free University Berlin; Non-Presenting Author: Joscha Kärtner, University of Münster

• Prosocial Behavior in Young Preschoolers: A Cross-Cultural Study Across The Netherlands, India, and China - Presenting Author: Yue Song, Utrecht University; Non-Presenting Author: Martine Broekhuizen, Utrecht University; Non-Presenting Author: Judith Semon Dubas, Utrecht University

• Understanding Children’s Prosocial Motivations: The Relation Between Helping, Comforting and Imitation - Presenting Author: Marta Giner Torréns, University of Münster; Non-Presenting Author: Joscha Kärtner, University of Münster

• Preschoolers’ Judgments about Prosocial Actions Across Contexts - Presenting Author: Rebekkah Lauren Gross, University of California, Santa Cruz; Non-Presenting Author: Catherine Siefert, University of California, Santa Cruz; Non-Presenting Author: Abha Sharma, University of California, Santa Cruz; Non-Presenting Author: Charles Baxley, University of California, Santa Cruz; Non-Presenting Author: Audun Dahl, University of California Santa Cruz