We explored how teachers perceived challenging behavior in contrast to behaviors that exemplify social-emotional competence, and how descriptions of behavior varied based on child demographics such as gender, race/ethnicity, and disability status. Using a DisCrit lens, we conducted this study under the assumption that perceptions of behavior may…

The present review aimed to examine cross-cultural differences (eastern vs western cultures) in the evaluation of antisocial and prosocial lies through two meta-analyses. A total of 10 studies consisting of 2,347 participants between 5 and 12 years of age were included. Both meta-analyses did not find significant cross-cultural differences on…

Prior studies have indicated that prosocial behavior might be a protective factor for developing internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. However, little research has been conducted on within-person changes of prosocial behavior and behavioral problems over time. With random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs), the current…

Play materials designed to enhance children's pretense were investigated; namely, how the specific characteristics of the play sets (thematically open-ended village set vs thematically closed-ended train set) influenced children's play communication regarding their co-construction of shared meanings. Participants included 44 7-year-old focal…

The errors young children make when recognising others' emotions may be systematic over-identification biases and may partially explain the challenges some have socially. These biases and associations may be differential by emotion. In a sample of 871 ethnically and racially diverse preschool-aged children (i.e. 33-68 months; 49% Hispanic/Latine,…

The present study evaluated children's prosocial behavior (M = 7.39, SD = 0.93) (i.e., specific altruism) under the influence of three types of cartoons (neutral, prosocial, or antisocial). Subjects (N = 140) were randomized and exposed to treatment with pre- and post-intervention measurements. The results didn't confirm the hypothesis that…

The aim of the study is to examine the predictive effect of self-regulation on peer relations. Data were collected from 3486 children. Of the study sample, 1736 were girls (49.9%) and 1747 were boys (50.1%). All the children were from high SES families and attending private preschools in 10 cities in Turkey. The results showed that all peer…

The current pilot study examines pre-schooler's play behaviour involving dolls with and without facial characteristics of Down syndrome over a period of 16 weeks. Play behaviours were categorized into one of 3 behavioural categories with predefined observational scoring grids: prosocial, antisocial, or neutral/no behaviour. Participants also…

Amid protracted conflict, children are raised in divided contexts that shape the development of their intergroup attitudes and behaviors. Social identity development theory (SIDT) suggests that in-group preference may contribute to more negative out-group attitudes and behaviors in middle childhood. In such contexts, in-group favoritism may shape…

Children hold strong ingroup biases from a young age, liking ingroup over outgroup members and preferring them as social learning models. Simultaneously, children are also highly prosocial--both in their own helping behaviors and their avoidance of those who behave antisocially. This study explores how children of 2 age groups (4-5 and 7-8 years)…

We assessed the psychometric properties of the Social Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ), a 30-item questionnaire evaluating social (e.g., disruptive behaviors, bullying) and emotional problems (e.g., anxiety, depression) among children aged 3.5-12 years. Children (n = 1,950, 50.21% boys) were drawn from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child…

Whereas some evidence suggests that toddlers consider targets' deservingness when deciding whom to help, other research demonstrates that toddlers help indiscriminately. The present findings shed light on this discrepancy by demonstrating that although toddlers do exhibit selectivity in giving behaviors, their emotional responses are comparatively…

Basic perspective taking and mentalizing abilities develop in childhood, but recent studies indicate that the use of social perspective taking to guide decisions and actions has a prolonged development that continues throughout adolescence. Here, we aimed to replicate this research and investigate the hypotheses that individual differences in…

In this longitudinal multiinformant study negative emotionality and sensory processing sensitivity were compared as susceptibility markers among kindergartners. Participating children (N = 264, 52.9% boys) were Dutch kindergartners (M[subscript age] = 4.77, SD = 0.60), followed across three waves, spaced seven months apart. Results show that…

How impressionable are in-group biases in early childhood? Previous research shows that young children display robust preferences for members of their own social group, but also condemn those who harm others. The current study investigates children's evaluations of agents when their group membership and moral behavior conflict. After being…