Use of prosocial language enhances human cooperation and harmony. Previous research has shown that talking about helping, sharing and giving to others creates positive impression on others, by which individuals and governments gain public approval. So far, the value judgement of approval and disapproval in terms of prosocial or antisocial has not…

Prosocial behavior in early childhood is a precursor to later adaptive social functioning. This investigation leveraged mother-reported, physiological, and observational data to examine children's prosocial development from age 2 to age 4 (N = 125). Maternal emotion socialization (ES) strategies and children's parasympathetic regulation have each…

This research investigates the relative strength of two correlates of helping behavior: dispositional empathic concern and a moral principle to care about others. The empathy-helping and care-helping relationships are investigated using data from the General Social Survey, a nationally representative random sample of the U.S. adult population. Ten…

Objective: Children with ADHD experience peer problems that may place them at risk for adverse outcomes. Using a short-term longitudinal design, this study links specific behaviors to peer functioning in groups of previously unfamiliar children with ADHD. Method: The participants were 268 children with ADHD who took part in an intensive summer…

Theories about helping behavior have branched into two basic areas: egoistic and altruistic. Egoistic theories describe helping as being induced by sadness or distress; the Empathy-Altruism hypothesis contends that people help when they feel empathy for another in need. Fultz, Schaller, and Cialdini (1988) looked at the possibility that three…

Male and female experimenters requested adult shoppers (N=178) to fill out a questionnaire. Refusal data showed shoppers helping other-sex more than same-sex experimenters. Other results showed a significant three-way interaction among helper and helpee sex and sex-typing and situation sex-typing and that helper sex-typing did not have significant…

A study of urban frail elderly revealed an association between higher rates of social interaction and more reliance on informal aid but less reliance on formal agencies. It may well be that informal social ties block proper access to useful services rather than lead to more humane and cheaper alternatives. (Author)

This study explored empirically the influence of acculturation (Hispanics' acquisition of behavioral patterns of the North American culture) on help seeking (coping) when a stressful event is experienced. It has been proposed that mental health services in the United States are highly reflective of Anglo American cultural values and thus…

Investigated helping as a function of empathic anxiety (anxiety in response to modeled distress) and individual differences in sociopathic tendencies. Results indicated modeled distress produces increases in anxiety which are positively associated with helping and sociopathic individuals are less likely to help than are nonsociopathic individuals.…

Investigates concerns among both disabled and able-bodied individuals concerning helping behavior in three settings: a sheltered workshop, a social activity group, and a university. Finds that helping did not appear to be a serious problem, and proposes 17 tentative "rules" for helping the handicapped. (KEH)

Research on individual's response to emergency situations in the presence of others has produced conflicting results. The bystander effect is the label applied to inaction or the unlikelihood of assistance with others present. The social facilitation effect occurs when the presence of others energizes response; strong habit responses are…

After acquiescing to a small initial request, people typically are more susceptible to a later call for assistance. This foot-in-the-door phenomenon was examined based on principles of social reinforcement. In Experiment 1, subjects induced to perform the same initial prosocial behaviors were found to be differentially susceptible to a later…

The Fischer-Turner Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help inventory was evaluated. Subjects reporting prior professional assistance for psychological problems espoused more favorable attitudes than individuals without such professional contact. Help-seeking attitudes were found to represent a significant positive influence on the…

School officials can use school nurses' sickroom records to improve health and accident prevention programs. (JD)

Self-disclosure to a therapist was investigated with 120 female subjects who viewed a video-taped vignette of a simulated psychotherapy session. Therapist self-disclosure was manipulated so that subjects saw a therapist exhibiting no disclosure, interpersonal disclosure, or intrapersonal disclosure. Subjects rated these therapists on a variety of…