Preschoolers’ responses to prosocial opportunities during naturalistic interactions with peers
A cross‐cultural comparison
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12686014 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nasim Tavassoli (0000-0002-5761-6653, Department of Education Concordia University Montreal Quebec Canada, corresponding author), Kristen A Dunfield (0000-0003-3353-6146, Concordia University), Kristen Dunfield (Department of Psychology Concordia University Montreal Quebec Canada), Astrid Kleis (0009-0003-9660-4756, Department of Psychology Concordia University Montreal Quebec Canada), Holly E Recchia (0000-0002-9490-6430, Department of Education Concordia University Montreal Quebec Canada), Laura Pareja Conto (0000-0002-2578-4038, Department of Education Concordia University Montreal Quebec Canada) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 204-222 |
| Publication date | 2022-06-20 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1467-9507 • E-ISSN: 0961-205X |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/sode.12620 |
| OpenAlex | W4283169726 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 50 |
The goal of this study was to better understand similarities and differences in preschool children's expression of needs and prosocial responsiveness to peers’ needs across two culturally distinct contexts. Preschoolers were observed in a semi‐naturalistic design across rural Mexico and urban Canada, wherein they were instructed to build a tower with blocks. Three‐ to 6‐year‐olds ( N = 306; 48% female) were divided into 64 peer groups. We coded for children's expression of needs (instrumental, material, or emotional), responses to prosocial opportunities (prosociality, denial, or no response), prosociality without an apparent need (spontaneous prosociality), and types of prosocial behavior (helping, sharing, or comforting). While instrumental and material needs were expressed similarly across both samples, Tzotzil Maya children expressed fewer emotional needs than Canadian children. Failing to respond to others’ needs, followed by denial, were the most frequent need‐provoked response in both countries; surprisingly, only 9% of needs received a prosocial response. Though need‐provoked prosociality was rare in both cultural contexts, children engaged in considerable spontaneous prosociality which varied as a function of age, gender, and cultural context. Lastly, Canadian more than Tzotzil Maya children denied emotional and instrumental needs (but not material needs). The findings inform how cultural practices may shape the presentation of needs and prosocial responsiveness in peer interactions
Context (archaeology · Denial · Developmental psychology · Empathy · Helping behavior · Prosocial behavior · Psychotherapist · Child and Animal Learning Development · Cultural Differences and Values · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Psychology · Social Psychology
The Oxford Handbook of Moral Development
The Palgrave Handbook of Childhood Studies
A construct divided
The Developmental Niche
Prosocial Development
Little Children's Participation in the Work of Adults, a Nascent Prosocial Behavior
The ontogeny of fairness in seven societies
The weirdest people in the world?
Children of Six Cultures
Sophisticated collaboration is common among Mexican-heritage US children
The Cultural Organization of Yucatec Mayan Children's Social Interactions
Cultural Teaching
Mayan Children's Creation of Learning Ecologies by Initiative and Cooperative Action
Adults’ Orientation of Children—And Children's Initiative to Pitch In—To Everyday Adult Activities in a Tsotsil Maya Community
Investigating the Development of Prosociality Through the Lens of Refusals
Children's Initiative in Contributions to Family Work in Indigenous-Heritage and Cosmopolitan Communities in Mexico
Children's Initiative in Family Household Work in Mexico
New Beginnings
How Yucatec Maya Children Learn to Help at Home
Multilevel Analysis
Why do infants help? A simple action reveals a complex phenomenon
Children's Help and the Pace of Reproduction
Cultural variation in the early development of initiative in children's prosocial helping
The importance of understanding children’s lived experience
Cognitive and social influences on early prosocial behavior in two sociocultural contexts
Anthropological Perspectives on Children as Helpers, Workers, Artisans, and Laborers
Would I be helped? Cross-national CCTV footage shows that intervention is the norm in public conflicts
Cultural Influences on Sharer and Recipient Behavior
Fairness and Distributive Justice by 3- to 5-Year-Old Tibetan Children
Fairness in Distributive Justice by 3- and 5-Year-Olds Across Seven Cultures
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,33 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |