Early social experiences, such as caregiver scaffolding, play a crucial but disputed role in the emergence of prosociality. A longitudinal experiment examined how explicit scaffolding--such as encouragement or praise--influences helping late in the first year, when helping emerges. Eighty-three infants (40 female, 6-9 months, 54% White, 17%…

This study investigates the diversity of early prosocial behavior by examining the ability of ninety-five 2- to 4-year-olds to provide aid to an adult experimenter displaying instrumental need, emotional distress, and material desire. Children provided appropriate aid in response to each of these cues with high consistency over multiple trials. In…

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…

This study examined the direct and interactive effects of stress reactivity and family adversity on socioemotional and cognitive development in three hundred and thirty-eight 5- to 6-year-old children. Neurobiological stress reactivity was measured as respiratory sinus arrhythmia and salivary cortisol responses to social, cognitive, sensory, and…

This meta-analytic review of 148 studies on child and adolescent direct and indirect aggression examined the magnitude of gender differences, intercorrelations between forms, and associations with maladjustment. Results confirmed prior findings of gender differences (favoring boys) in direct aggression and trivial gender differences in indirect…

Three kinds of prosocial behavior (helping, sharing, and comforting) were studied in experimental and natural settings, in 108 children ages 3 to 7 1/2. (BRT)

The effects of rewards and expectations of future rewards on sharing were examined with 180 Israeli boys at three age levels (ages 6-7, 9-10, and 12-13). A relation between moral judgment and behavior was found. (BRT)

Four features of early adolescent friendship have received the greatest attention in the literature: intimacy of conversations, friends' responsiveness to each other's needs and desires, the degree of similarity or complementarity between friends, and the stability of friendships over time. Each of these features and its potential effect on the…

Examined children's emotional and behavioral regulation and emotional and prosocial responses to a crying infant. Found that children who could regulate their arousal were unlikely to become distressed and more likely than other children to talk to and comfort the crying infant. Girls were more responsive and engaged in more active responses than…

Thirty-four pairs of same-sex siblings were observed for two one-hour periods in their homes. The younger siblings averaged 20 months of age and the age interval between siblings was either large (2.5-4 years) or small (1-2 years). (JMB)

Videorecorded stimuli were used to assess social information processing patterns in 3 domains (peer group entry, response to provocation, and response to authority directive) in 259 first, second, and third graders. Teacher and peer ratings of behavior competence supported the hypothesis that children's behavioral competence is a function of…

Examined the emotional reactions of toddlers to two mishaps. Children's reactions varied along two dimensions: tension and frustration and concerned reparation. Mishaps elicited more negative emotions than did free play, and most toddlers attempted to correct the mishap. Findings indicate that children's styles of emotional response to mishaps may…