ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on children’s behavior that enhances the lives of people around them, and is not primarily concerned with issues of selflessness versus selfishness. Prosocial behavior is any behavior that benefits someone other than the actor. Thus, the study of prosocial behavior has major social implications.Investigating patterns, rather than isolated variables, will lead to more meaningful and complete information about parental influences on the development of prosocial behavior. Variations on this general pattern are common, however, and are associated with somewhat different indices of prosocial behavior. Supporting the hypothesis that behavioral repertoires affect prosocial behavior, Zahn-Waxler et al. found that toddlers’ altruism was significantly correlated with their mothers’ suggestions of how to make amends when the child had hurt someone. Zahn-Waxler and Radke-Yarrow’s work indicates that the toddler years are critical for understanding the development of prosocial behavior.
