Too Much of a Good Thing? Associations Between Parental Support and Infant Helping and Sharing

• In Event: Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Topic - Moral Development

Abstract

Early prosocial behavior is related to healthy child development (Flynn et al., 2015). There has been debate regarding the role of socialization in the development of infant prosocial behavior (Warneken, 2015; Dahl & Bownell, 2019). Previous research shows that the influence of parental support in infant prosocial development may vary with age (Dahl et al., 2017; Meyer et al., 1979). Dahl (2015) found that parental involvement was positively associated with helping for infants younger than 15 months, but negatively related to helping for infants older than 15 months. To further examine the multidimensional pathways of infant prosocial development, the current study examined relations between parental support and infants’ helping and sharing towards their primary caregiver and a stranger.

Infants (N = 268) participated in three tasks (helping, sharing, caregiver-infant freeplay observation) at two waves (W1, W2), when the infants were approximately between 1-2 years of age (Mage = 1.47 years, SD = .27) and again between 2-3 years of age (Mage = 2.48 years, SD = .26). In the helping task (see Figure 1), an actor (researcher or caregiver, chosen randomly) dropped an object (W1=pen, W2=tape) and then expressed increasing levels of scripted sadness and confusion (hand gestures, changes in gaze, vocal cues) for up to 60 seconds. In the sharing task (see figure 1), the child was given an object with an accessory (W1=paper & stickers; W2=cup & crackers) and the actor not selected for the helping task was given the object without the accessory (only paper; cup). For up to 60 seconds, the actor expressed increasing levels of scripted sadness and confusion. The helping and sharing tasks were coded using a 5-point scale (Newton et al., 2014; Vaish et al., 2009). In the freeplay task (see Figure 1), the parent and child were observed with a set of toys for four minutes. The parents’ behaviors were coded for parental support (i.e., acceptance/warmth, descriptive language, frequency of parent following child’s lead).

Separate regression analyses examined relations between parental support and infant helping and sharing towards caregivers and strangers. W1 parental support was positively related to helping caregivers at wave 1 (b = .1.86, p = .006) and W2 parental support was positively related to sharing with strangers at wave 2 (b = 3.19, p = .035). These patterns were qualified by significant interactions (b = -1.17, p = 0.006; b = -1.28, p = 0.034). Figure 2a shows that W1 parental support at W1 was positively associated with helping caregivers for younger infants and negatively associated with helping caregivers for older infants. Similarly, W2 parental support was positively associated with sharing with strangers for younger infants and negatively associated with sharing with strangers for older infants.
These results support previous research showing that parental involvement may result in increased or decreased infant helping behaviors, depending on age (Dahl, 2015).

Our results suggest that high levels of parental support may lead to lower levels of helping caregivers and sharing with strangers. Implications for the multidimensionality of infant prosocial behavior will be discussed.

Authors

• Janna Pickett, Arizona State University
  Presenting Author

• Peter J Reschke, Brigham Young University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Gavin Conner Jones, Brigham Young University
  Non-Presenting Author