Prosocial Behaviour in Children

2892 Words12 Pages
ASSIGNMENT TOPIC “Prosocial behavior is the outcome of multiple ... factors” (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998, p. 742) Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 Socialisation of prosocial behavior within the family 4 Moral reasoning 5 Assertiveness 6 Emotion 6 Empathy and sympathy 7 The Family Environment 7 Parenting styles 7 Religion 10 South African context 10 Individual characteristics 10 Extravert/introvert 10 Temperament 10 Gender 11 Heritability of prosocial tendencies 11 Cognitive and sociocognitive correlates of prosocial development. 11 Findings from assignment 1 12 Conclusion 12 Bibliography 14 Introduction This essay will discuss prosocial behavior with reference cultural factors, socialisation of prosocial behavior within the family the child’s individual characteristics. Firstly, prosocial behavior will be defined. Secondly, the cultural determinants of prosocial behavior will be outlined. Thirdly, how prosocial behavior is socialized in the family will be stated. Fourthly, the impact of the child’s individual characteristics on prosocial behavior will be shown. Fifth, in conclusion, assignment 01 will be revisited to find a correlation with elements in the research done for this essay. Prosocial behavior was defined as "behaviors that are positively responsive to others' needs and welfare" (Radke-Yarrow & Zahn-Waxler, 1986, p. 208). Prosocial or altruistic behavior is seen in actions that benefit others without expecting any reward (Berk, 2013). Altruistic behavior is a voluntary, moral act which benefits others (Bar-Tal, Raviv, & Leiser, 1980). According to Bar-Tal et al (1980), children’s prosocial behavior develops in stages: firstly, compliance with concrete-defined reinforcement, where children are told what behavior to perform for which they are positively reinforced;
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