prosocial development Flashcards
What is prosocial behaviour?
- Intended to benefit another person
- Involves a risk or sacrifice to actor
- Is voluntary
two factors that make up prosocial behavior
Empathy and sympathy
children at age 2 on prosocial behavior:
children start to more clearly differentiate between another’s emotional distress and their own (responses can still be egocentric
children at age 2-3 on prosocial behavior:
frequency and variety of young children’s prosocial behaviours increase, although they don’t regularly act in prosocial ways
children’s prosocial behavior in preschool to adolescence
increase
young vs. old children on motivation for prosocial behavior
- Young children: prosocial behaviour motivated by empathy or sympathy for others
- Older children: drive by desire to act in ways consistent with one’s own conscience and moral principles
Eisenberg’s stage of prosocial behavior
- Level1: hedonistic, self-focused orientation
- Level2: needs-based orientation
- Level3: approval and/or stereotyped orientation
- Level4a: self-reflective empathic orientation
- Level4b: transitional level
- Level5: strongly internalized stage
Eisenberg’s level 1: hedonistic, self-focused orientation
- Concerned with own interests
- Preschool age
Eisenberg’s level 2: needs-based orientation
- Concerned with others’ needs even when they conflict with own needs
- some preschool and elementary school ages
Eisenberg’s level 3: approval and/or stereotyped orientation
- Decision to help based on ideas of good and bad
- Elementary school age
Eisenberg’s level 4a: self-reflective empathic orientation
- Sympathetic responsiveness or role-taking; concern for others’ humanness
- Older elementary school and high school age
Eisenberg’s level 4b: transitional level
Internalize values, norms, responsibilities, concern for larger society
Eisenberg’s level 5: strongly internalized stage
Everything based on values, norms and responsibilities; desire to maintain obligations and improve society; belief in dignity of all individuals
supportive and constructive parenting related to…
higher prosocial behaviour
Physical punishment, threats, authoritarian parenting related to…
lower sympathy and prosocial behaviour
Physical rewards for prosocial behaviour…
decreases motivation later for prosocial behaviour if reward is not present
Punishment for not using prosocial behaviours leads …
child to believe reason for helping is to avoid punishment
3 primary ways parents can socialize prosocial behaviours:
- Modelling and teaching prosocial behaviour
- Arranging opportunities for children to engage in prosocial behaviour
- By electing prosocial behaviour from them
Modelling and teaching prosocial behaviour
Reasoning that points out consequences or child’s behaviour for others and encourages perspective taking, promotes voluntary prosocial behavior
Television and video games influence on children:
children who watch prosocial TV tend to exhibit this behaviour immediately after the show
- Effects not lasting, but increased when parents role play prosocial behaviour seen on TV or provide child with play material that reinforces prosocial theme
Cultural contributions to prosocial behavior
In more prosocial cultures, children often live in extended families —> may help them learn that they were responsible for others, and helping behaviour was valued
Genetic contributions to prosocial behavior
- greater similarity in these behaviours between identical twins than fraternal twins
- Genetic effects on prosocial behaviour may be influenced by diffs in temperament
Piaget’s stages of moral judgement
- Heteronomous morality
- Transitional period
- Autonomous morality
Piaget’s Heteronomous morality
- Characterizes moral reasoning of children who have not yet reached cognitive stage of concrete operations
- See rules and duties as givens established by adult
- What determines whether an action is good or bad is consequence of action, not motive behind it