This study examined children's self-assessment of their prosociality, relative to average peers, in situations where the recipient is described as "needy" versus "not needy" (at a school of average socioeconomic level in south Israel; N = 158; aged 6-12 years; 51% males, December-May 2021). The results show that older children…

Relations among White (non-Latinx) children's empathy-related responding, prosocial behaviors, and racial attitudes toward White and Black peers were examined. In 2017, 190 (54% boys) White 5- to 9-year-old children (M = 7.09 years, SD = 0.94) watched a series of videos that depicted social rejection of either a White or Black child.…

Guilt serves vital prosocial functions: It motivates transgressors to make amends, thus restoring damaged relationships. Previous developmental research on guilt has not clearly distinguished it from sympathy for a victim or a tendency to repair damage in general. The authors tested 2- and 3-year-old children (N = 62 and 64, respectively) in a…

The current study used a novel methodology based on multivocal ethnography to assess the relations between conformity and evaluations of intelligence and good behavior among Western (U.S.) and non-Western (Ni-Vanuatu) children (6- to 11-year-olds) and adolescents (13- to 17-year-olds; N = 256). Previous research has shown that U.S. adults were…

Bidirectional relations among adolescents' positivity, perceived positive school climate, and prosocial behavior were examined in Colombian youth. Also, the role of a positive school climate in mediating the relation of positivity to prosocial behaviors was tested. Adolescents (N = 151; M[subscript age] of child in Wave 1 = 12.68, SD = 1.06; 58.9%…

Reactivity to others' emotions not only can result in empathic concern (EC), an important motivator of prosocial behavior, but can also result in personal distress (PD), which may hinder prosocial behavior. Examining neural substrates of emotional reactivity may elucidate how EC and PD differentially influence prosocial behavior. Participants…

Five- to 13-year-old European American children ("N" = 76) predicted characters' decisions, emotions, and obligations in prosocial moral dilemmas. Across age, children judged that characters would feel more positive emotions helping an unfamiliar child from the racial in-group versus out-group (African American), happier ignoring the…

Reports two studies examining the age/generosity relationship in children five to ten years old. With data gathered both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, studies demonstrated the existence of a nonlinear as well as a linear trend. (Author/MP)

The effectiveness of self-instructional training using broad verbal mediators for promoting generalization of honest behavior was examined with 60 first graders and 60 fourth graders. (MP)

Investigates the maternal, sibling, and situational correlates of prosocial behavior between siblings and the relationship of prosocial to antisocial behavior. Fifty mothers were videotaped with their first- and later-born daughters in a seminaturalistic game-playing setting. (Author/SS)

Examines the effects of age, sex, and communicative situation on several comforting communication skills of first- through twelfth-grade subjects. Results indicated that the number, variety, and sensitivity of comfort-intended message strategies increased significantly with age and that strategies were used differently by males and females.…

One hundred and fifty-six children between the ages of 18 and 76 months were observed three times for 10 minutes each during free play in an attempt to describe the helping behavior of preschool children. (Author/RH)

Modeling and direct instruction were used to train children to cooperate rather than compete. Children in treatment conditions showed significantly more cooperation than did control groups after immediate assessment. Seven weeks later age but not treatment differences were observed in generalization of training. (Author/DB)

Three studies were conducted to assess age-related changes in children's compliant helping behavior (helping directed toward a peer at an adult's request) in relationship to (1) information about another's need, (2) knowledge about how to help, and (3) the helper's perception of interpersonal and situational constraints on helping. (Author/RH)

A total of 111 boys of fourth-, sixth-, and eighth-grade ages were put into situations in which they had an opportunity to donate money for crippled children. Results support the supposition that the motives for helping behavior develop with age. (RH)