The authors hypothesized that a social and emotional learning (SEL) program involving mindfulness and caring for others, designed for elementary school students, would enhance cognitive control, reduce stress, promote well-being and prosociality, and produce positive school outcomes. To test this hypothesis, 4 classes of combined 4th and 5th…

When assessing the influence of empathy on prosocial motivation, analyzing empathy alone would lead to a misunderstanding. We must also assess other elements of the situation, such as the altruist's coping skills and situational constraints. In a similar manner empathy itself should be conceptualized as a process with many elements. One way to…

One of the important factors contributing to the current interest in the development of social competence in preschool children is the acceptance of such competencies as appropriate outcomes in the evaluation of preschool intervention programs. Measurement of social competence is still in an early stage of development. One problem is that…

A developmental model for an empathy-based prosocial motive is presented. The framework of the model is presented in terms of three components of empathy. The first component, empathic affective arousal, is discussed and six involuntary psychological mechanisms which underlie it are described briefly. These mechanisms, in the order in which they…

This article discusses cognitive development research as it relates to social competence. Two research approaches are summarized: (1) attempts to isolate sequential stages in the development of social cognition, and (2) conceptualization of broad organizing principles hypothesized to mediate all social cognition. (Author/SJL)

This paper describes a one-year longitudinal follow up study of the long term effects of role taking training procedures (in which children assumed a number of perspectives) on children's social and cognitive behaviors. Longitudinal and cross-sectional age effects were also analyzed. In an earlier study the effect of two types of role-taking…

Intervention to enhance Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving (ICPS) skills has been shown to significantly reduce observable negative, impulsive and inhibited behaviors and increase positive qualities in young, low socioeconomic status (SES) children. An ICPS model for older children was implemented with 202 low SES fifth graders to test…

Investigated the relationship between psychological understanding and positive social behavior in preschool children. Found that both mental state understanding and emotion understanding were positively related to teacher ratings of social skills, behavioral observers' global ratings of social skills, and peer popularity. When language ability was…

This study compares the effectiveness of four experimental training programs designed to foster altruism in kindergarten children. Subjects were 97 children 4-5 years of age in six preschool classes. The children were assigned as a class to one of the six training and control conditions. The four training conditions were: (1) role playing; (2)…

This paper describes three interrelated studies which investigated the cognitions, feelings, and motives involved in the emergence and progression of prosocial behaviors. The first study examined the child's emerging sensitivities to the affective events in his environment through data collected over a 9-month period from groups of 10-, 15-, and…

Argues that altruism among preschool children is dependent upon children's understanding of a variety of complex cognitive and social skills and that these skills can, to some extent, be facilitated by appropriate training programs. (Author/MP)

The central objective of this study was to draw interdependent relationships between preschoolers' social functioning and their modes of social thought. Assessment of 67 four-year-olds was done through systematic observations of social behavior, including social participation, type of play, and affective involvement in the preschool setting, as…