Showing papers on "Prosocial behavior published in 1997"

Development of prosocial, individualistic, and competitive orientations : Theory and preliminary evidence

Abstract: The authors adopt an interdependen ce analysis of social value orientation, proposing that prosocial, individualistic, and competitive orientations are (a) partially rooted in different patterns of social interaction as experienced during the periods spanning early childhood to young adulthood and (b) further shaped by different patterns of social interaction as experienced during early adulthood, middle adulthood, and old age. Congruent with this analysis, results revealed that relative to individualists and competitors, prosocial individuals exhibited greater levels of secure attachment (Studies 1 and 2) and reported having more siblings, especially sisters (Study 3). Finally, the prevalence of prosocials increased—and the prevalence of individualist s and competitors decreased—from early adulthood to middle adulthood and old age (Study 4). Traditional theories and insights assume that the principle of rational self-interest or economic man reflects the prevailing motivation among humankind (Luce & Raiffa, 1957; Von Neuman & Morgenstern, 1947; cf. Roth, 1988). However, more recent theoretical developments have indicated that individuals systematically differ in the manner in which they approach interdependent others. Some people are inclined to give interdependent others the benefit of the doubt and approach them cooperatively, whereas other people are inclined to approach interdependent others in a less cooperative manner. Such individual differences are related to social value orientation, defined as stable preferences for certain patterns of outcomes for oneself and others (McClintock, 1978; Messick & McClintock, 1968). Although a variety of different social value orientations can be distinguished from a theoretical point of view (e.g., Knight & Dubro, 1984), in this article we address a three-category typology of social value orientation, examining differences between prosocial, individualistic, and competitive orientations. Prosocials tend to maximize outcomes for both themselves and others (i.e., cooperation) and to minimize differences between outcomes for

Agreeableness: A Dimension of Personality

Abstract: Publisher Summary Agreeableness is probably best conceptualized as a general latent variable that summarizes more specific tendencies and behaviors Agreeableness should certainly qualify as an individual difference having significance for people's daily transactions It can be predominantly an affective evaluation and may be a more diffuse reaction Across a range of studies, agreeableness emerges in the natural language descriptions of the self and peers Furthermore, there is evidence that self-rating and peer evaluations converge in assessing agreeableness Later, the prosocial personality is discussed in this chapter Prosocial behavior can be conceptualized as a form of agreeableness Recent research suggests that there may be important dispositional components to prosocial behavior, and these may be seen even in young children Precise identification of these dispositions has been inhibited by problems of differentiating among social motives, and by weak measures of altruism as an outcome and as a disposition Basic bio-behavioral research suggests that individual differences in agreeableness in adults may have their origins in affective self-regulatory processes in childhood In particular, individual differences in the pattern of inhibition of negative effect may be related to the development of agreeableness and these may be related to health, especially cardiovascular disease

Friendships, Peer Acceptance, and Group Membership: Relations to Academic Achievement in Middle School

Abstract: Two samples of sixth-grade students were followed over time to examine relations of number of reciprocated friendships, peer acceptance, and group membership to academic achievement. In both samples, group membership was the most consistent predictor of grades over time. In Study 2, prosocial behavior, antisocial behavior, and emotional distress were examined as processes that might explain these significant links between peer relationships and academic achievement. Results of longitudinal analyses support a conclusion that aspects of peer relationships are related to classroom achievement indirectly, by way of significant relations with prosocial behavior. Future research might benefit from more in-depth analyses of the functions of adolescent peer relationships and the processes by which they influence orientations toward social and academic competence at school.

Effectiveness of a Violence Prevention Curriculum Among Children in Elementary School: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract: Objective. —To determine if a commonly used violence prevention curriculum, Second Step: A Violence Prevention Curriculum, leads to a reduction in aggressive behavior and an increase in prosocial behavior among elementary school students. Design. —Randomized controlled trial. Setting. —Urban and suburban elementary schools in the state of Washington. Participants. —Six matched pairs of schools with 790 second-grade and third-grade students. The students were 53% male and 79% white. Intervention. —The curriculum uses 30 specific lessons to teach social skills related to anger management, impulse control, and empathy. Main Outcome Measures. —Aggressive and prosocial behavior changes were measured 2 weeks and 6 months after participation in the curriculum by parent and teacher reports (Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist and Teacher Report Form, the School Social Behavior Scale, and the Parent-Child Rating Scale) and by observation of a random subsample of 588 students in the classroom and playground/ cafeteria settings. Results. —After adjusting for sex, age, socioeconomic status, race, academic performance, household size, and class size, change scores did not differ significantly between the intervention and control schools for any of the parent-reported or teacher-reported behavior scales. However, the behavior observations did reveal an overall decrease 2 weeks after the curriculum in physical aggression ( P =.03) and an increase in neutral/prosocial behavior ( P =.04) in the intervention group compared with the control group. Most effects persisted 6 months later. Conclusions. —The Second Step violence prevention curriculum appears to lead to a moderate observed decrease in physically aggressive behavior and an increase in neutral and prosocial behavior in school.

Peer networks and bullying in schools

Abstract: This study looked at how the social constellations in school classes relate to bullying problems. Using peer-evaluation questionnaires, the peer networks of children with different participant roles (such as victim, bully, assistant of bully, reinforcer of bully, defender of victim, outsider) were explored. The subjects were 459 sixth-grade-children (218 girls, 241 boys), aged 11 to 12 years, in Finland. The main findings were: 1) Children who tended to behave in either similar or complementary participant roles in situations of bullying formed networks with each other. The individual child’s behavior in bullying situations was strongly connected to how the members of his:her network behaved in such situations. 2) Bullies, assistants, and reinforcers belonged to larger networks than did defenders, outsiders and victims. 3) Children outside the networks were most often victims. It was concluded that behavior in bullying situations can be said to be one feature around which the peer networks in school classes are organized. Thus prevention, as well as intervention strategies against bullying should focus not only on individual children, but also on the wider social context of the class.

Beyond Job Attitudes: A Personality and Social Psychology Perspective on the Causes of Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Abstract: It is a well-established fact that job attitudes and organizational variables are causally related to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), but it is unlikely that they are the only causes of this important organizational behavior. This article concerns some other possible causes of OCB. On the basis of prior research on OCB and a conceptually related phenomenon-volunteerism-we propose that two kinds of dispositional variables may play significant roles in OCB. The first of these is an individual's motives for engaging in OCB. It is argued that because OCB may serve different needs or motives for different individuals, the measurement of these motives will improve the prediction of OCB. The other dispositional variable is a personality trait-the prosocial personality orientation. Because OCB is a prosocial action and this personality trait involves prosocial thoughts, feelings, and actions, it may predict OCB better than more general personality traits. Data are presented to support the argument that...

Relational Aggression and Peer Relations: Gender and Developmental Issues.

Abstract: One of the strongest behavioral predictors of peer rejection in boys is physical aggression Physical aggression in girls is much less common, and other behavioral predictors of rejection in girls have not been well documented We investigated the relationship between three behaviors (physical aggression, relational aggression, and prosocial behaviors) and three social outcomes (peer rejection, acceptance, and reciprocal friendships) in thirdand sixth-grade girls and boys Significant gender differences in physical aggression and prosocial behaviors were found at both grade levels Regression analyses demonstrated the gender-specific role of relational ag gression Among girls, but not boys, relational aggression explained variance in rejection beyond that explained by overt aggression We further found that most children, even the most aggressive, had at least one reciprocal friend

Common Dimensions of Social Skills of Children and Adolescents: A Taxonomy of Positive Behaviors

Abstract: Although much work has been done to derive empirically based taxonomies of child and adolescent problem behaviors, such is not the case for positive social behaviors. In the present study an extens...

Relational aggression, gender, and peer acceptance: Invariance across culture, stability over time, and concordance among informants.

Abstract: It has been proposed that overt physical and verbal aggression are more prevalent among boys and that covert aggression in the context of interpersonal relationships is more typical of girls. The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend American research on this topic to Italy. Italian elementary school pupils (n = 314) and their teachers provided nominations for aggression and prosocial behavior on 2 occasions within a single school year. Both peer and teacher nominations were highly stable, though there was very poor concordance between them. Peer nominations for both overt and relational aggression were linked to peer rejection. Contrary to expectations, boys scored higher than girls in both overt and relational aggression. Nevertheless, on the basis of the gender composition of extreme groups, the authors conclude that the distinction between overt and relational aggression is as useful in facilitating research on aggressiveness among girls in Italy as it is in the United States.

The structure of empathy during middle childhood and its relationship to prosocial behavior

Abstract: This study was an investigation of the structure and development of dispositional empathy during middle childhood and its relationship to altruism. A sample of 478 students from 2nd, 4th, and 6th grades completed an altruism questionnaire and a social desirability scale, both created for this study, and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1980), adapted for this study. Teachers also rated the students on prosocial behaviors, such as sharing. In addition, as an experimental part of the study, the children could make monetary donations and volunteer time to raise funds. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index supported Davis's (1980) findings that empathy comprises four components: perspective taking, fantasy, empathic concern, and personal distress. Factor intercorrelations, however, were not the same as those reported by Davis. MANOVAs were used to examine gender and age effects on empathy. Girls were more empathic in general than boys, and older children showed more empathic concern than younger children. Only empathic concern and perspective taking were significant predictors of prosocial behavior.

Child, Parent, and Contextual Influences on Perceived Parenting Competence among Parents of Adolescents.

Abstract: Belsky's (1984) model of the determinants of parenting was examined among 666 pairs of White mothers and adolescents and 510 pairs of White fathers and adolescents. When parents reported higher perceived parenting competence, sons and daughters reported more parental monitoring and responsiveness and less parental psychological control. Moreover, sons and daughters of competent parents reported higher levels of most measures of academic and psychosocial competence. For mothers and fathers, the best correlates of perceived competence in parenting were adolescent openness to socialization and stress in parenting this particular child, followed by parental sensitivity (for mothers) and marital or partner support (for fathers). Implications suggest expanding Belsky's model to include goodness-of-fit between parent and child. Key Words: adolescence, child effects, gender, goodness-of-fit, parenting competence. The long history of research on the parent-child relationship has focused almost exclusively on how parents influence the development of their offspring. Overall, these studies suggest that competent parenting promotes attachment security, cooperation, compliance, and achievement in children, whereas incompetent parenting fosters uncooperative and problematic behavior (see Belsky, 1990; Guidubaldi & Cleminshaw, 1989; Maccoby & Martin, 1983). Even among children as old as adolescents, those with competent parents perform better across a variety of domains, including psychological development, prosocial behavior, and academic competence (Baumrind, 1967, 1989, 1991; Dornbusch, Ritter, Leiderman, Roberts, & Fraleigh, 1987; Lamborn, Mounts, Steinberg, & Dornbusch, 1991; Steinberg, 1990; Steinberg, Elmen, & Mounts,1989). The consistency of these findings over time and across developmental periods has led to claims that further research on the benefits of competent parenting is unwarranted (Steinberg, 1990), that what is needed instead is a systematic attempt to disentangle what contributes to competent parenting-those specific components and processes that explain individual differences in parental functioning (Belsky, 1984, 1990). Yet, few studies of parenting competence are conducted with normative populations (Belsky, 1984), especially parents of adolescents. Knowledge and theorizing about the determinants of competent parenting are extrapolated primarily from studies of young children, with a predominant emphasis on dysfunctional parenting (e.g., child-abusing families). Far more attention is devoted to the parenting role of mothers than of fathers, despite evidence of the importance of the same-sex parent during adolescence (Hetherington, 1989; Steinberg & Silverberg, 1987). Furthermore, the predominant determinants of competent parenting are presumed to be parental characteristics or the social context (Belsky, 1984). There is a lacunae of research that examines children's influences on the quality of parenting they receive. Emerging studies of child characteristics focus primarily on how younger children affect mothers. These studies virtually ignore fathers and older children, despite preliminary evidence that a child's influence becomes more substantial during adolescence (Ambert, 1992; Lerner, 1982). In this article, perceived parenting competence is conceptualized as parents' self-evaluation (Gibaud-Wallston & Wandersman, 1978) of their ability to perform a range of well-accepted and valued behaviors related to optimum adolescent development. Following the lead of Blechman (1984), we do not contend that perceived competence is a stable, enduring trait of parents, but rather reflects their ability to adapt to the changing demands of parenting at a particular point in their adolescent's development. Moreover, if perceived parenting competence is to be a meaningful construct, it should have predictive ability (Blechman, 1984), reflected in adolescents' academic and psychosocial competence. …

Relations among personality scales of aggression, violence, and empathy: Validational evidence bearing on the risk of eruptive violence scale

Abstract: This study was designed to explore relations of emotional empathy (two scales) with aggression and violence (three scales). An initial study investigated validity of one of the violence scales, the Risk of Eruptive Violence Scale (REV), by comparing individual REV scores with individual histories of criminal violence for a sample of incarcerated juveniles. Validity of the REV was supported by a very strong correlation of .71 between REV scores and the amount of criminal violence in this homogeneous sample. The second study yielded positive intercorrelations among measures of aggression and violence, positive intercorrelations among measures of emotional empathy, and negative correlations (ranging from –.22 to –.50, P < .05) of measures of aggression and violence with measures of emotional empathy. Analyses of the five scales in terms of the Pleasure-Arousability-Dominance (PAD) Temperament Model helped explain similarities of the emotional empathy scales with other individual difference measures of prosocial orientation (e.g., affiliation). PAD analyses also explained some paradoxical effects of experimental "empathy arousal" on aggression toward victims. Aggr. Behav. 23:433–445, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Attributions for child behavior in parents of children without behavior disorders and children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.

Abstract: Attributions for and reactions to inattentive-overactive, oppositional-defiant, and prosocial child behaviors were compared in 52 parents of children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 42 parents of children without behavior disorders. Parent attributions and reactions elicited using written descriptions of child behavior, behaviors the parent recalled his or her own child displaying, and videotaped clips of the parent's own child's behavior all revealed a similar pattern. Compared with parents of children without behavior disorders, parents of children with ADHD saw inattentive-overactive and oppositional defiant behaviors as more internally caused, less controllable by the child, and more stable; and they had more negative reactions to such behaviors. For prosocial child behaviors, parents of children with ADHD rated the causes as less internal and less stable than control parents did.

Emotion regulation in mother–child narrative co-construction: Associations with children's narratives and adaptation.

Abstract: The associations were studied between early mother-child co-construction of a separation-reunion narrative and children's concurrent and later (a) emotion narratives and (b) behavior problems Fifty-one children and their mothers were observed during a co-construction task when the children were age 4 1/2 At ages 4 1/2 and 5 1/2, children's narratives were elicited using the MacArthur Story-Stem Battery (MSSB), and mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist Results showed that children who were more emotionally coherent during the co-constructions had MSSB narratives that were more coherent, had more prosocial themes, and had fewer aggressive themes at ages 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 Moreover, such children had fewer behavior problems at both ages The relations between narrative processes and emotion regulation are discussed

African American Family and Parenting Strategies in Impoverished Neighborhoods

Abstract: This article considers how qualitative insights can inform quantitatively-derived neighborhood effects theories. Neighborhood effects theories argue that inner-city areas lack social and economic resources that promote the social mobility prospects of African American children. Consequently, children who grow up in impoverished neighborhoods are at risk for dropping out of school, bearing children prematurely, and engaging in delinquent activities. Qualitative studies, however, identify family and parenting strategies that buffer children from the risks associated with inner-city residence. When these practices are used, children are more likely to complete high school, forego premature childbearing, and participate in prosocial activities. Insights from qualitative studies expand on neighborhood effects theories by identifying variations in child social mobility prospects and the processes by which conventional outcomes are achieved. More specifically, qualitative studies focus attention on important factors that permit children to succeed, despite social and economic obstacles.

Beyond helping: do other-oriented values have broader implications in organizations?

Abstract: On the basis of H. A. Simon (1990), the value of concern for others is proposed to derive from a process whereby individuals accept social information without carefully weighing its personal consequences. This value may thus reflect a sensitivity to social information that is unrelated to helping others. In 3 studies examining individuals' reactions to performance feedback, the reactions of persons high in concern for others were less contingent than those of persons low in concern for others on the personal costs and benefits of accepting and responding to feedback. In contrast, persons low in concern for others were likely to reject feedback that did not result in valued personal outcomes. Because many models of organizational behavior maintain that individuals act on the basis of their evaluation of personal consequences, this value may relate to a wide range of organizational phenomena.

Q-Sort Assessment of Child–Teacher Attachment Relationships and Social Competence in the Preschool

Abstract: The implications of the attachment relationship between children and their preschool teachers was investigated. Sixty-two preschool-age children and their teachers were studied to assess relations between the quality of attachment relationships and social competence. Results indicate that attachment security with teacher is related to prosocial behavior and teacher-rated social competence in the preschool. In addition, evidence suggests that when the child–mother attachment relationship is insecure, a secure attachment relationship with a preschool teacher may partially compensate for the insecure relationship. Children who were insecurely attached to mother but securely attached to teacher had higher teacher-rated social competence, were more prosocial, and were more positive emotionally than children who were insecurely attached to both mother and teacher.

Measurement of Two Social Competence Aspects in Middle Childhood.

Abstract: The psychometric properties of a rating measure for parents and teachers for social competence, conceptualized as social skills and behaviors, were studied. The rating measure was constructed from factor analyses on 4 samples of school-age children. Factor analyses identified 2 moderately correlated competence aspects, valid for both sexes and for children from varying socioeconomic backgrounds. The first factor, Prosocial Orientation, captured a style promoting positive social interactions; the second factor, Social Initiative, described initiative as opposed to withdrawal in social situations. Scales based on the 2 factors showed reliability in internal consistency and stability across 1 year, validity in interrater agreement concurrently and across 1 year, correspondence with observed peer behavior, and the capacity to discriminate between children of different peer status.

Skillstreaming the Adolescent: New Strategies and Perspectives for Teaching Prosocial Skills

Abstract: This newly revised book is divided into six skill groups: beginning social skills, advanced social skills, dealing with feelings, alternatives to aggression, dealing with stress, and planning skills.The authors provide strategies for teaching 50 specific prosocial skills, such as starting a conversation, apologizing, expressing your feelings, standing up for a friend, responding to failure, and setting a goal.Appendices contain program evaluation forms and a 42-page annotated bibliography of Skillstreaming research.

Chronic and Predispositional Guilt: Relations to Mental Health, Prosocial Behavior, and Religiosity

Abstract: Researchers are in sharp disagreement concerning the role of guilt in mental health and prosocial behavior, and on whether guilt is associated with greater religiosity We sought to resolve diametrically opposed reports by distinguishing chronic guilt, an ongoing condition unattached to immediate events, from predispositional guilt, a personality proclivity for experiencing guilt in reaction to circumscribed precipitating events We administered a battery of commonly used guilt and shame measures to 101 undergraduates (48 men, 53 women) as well as measures of chronic and predispositional guilt designed to hold content constant Undergraduates also completed the Beck Depression Inventory and the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised, reported extracurricular activities including volunteer work and religious group participation, and provided other information on religiosity Chronic guilt invariably showed stronger relations than did predispositional guilt with symptoms of depression and psychopathology In contrast, predispositional compared to chronic guilt was more strongly associated with lowered hostility and increased volunteerism as well as participation in religious activities and religiosity

Age and gender differences in adolescents’ reactions to conflict situations: Aggression, prosociality, and withdrawal

Abstract: In this study, we examined how aggression, prosociality, and withdrawal, as reactions to interpersonal conflict situations, manifest themselves in pre-, mid-, and late adolescence (N = 2594). The subjects filled out a questionnaire that contained a description of two everyday problem situations with a set of problem-solving strategies. The results showed that aggression develops curvilinearily and that both prosociality and withdrawal decrease with age. In addition, both direct and indirect aggression, as well as withdrawal, were found to be more typical among boys than among girls whereas, in late adolescence, prosociality was more typical among girls. The most often used strategy in preadolescence was prosociality and in midadolescence, aggression. In late adolescence, girls used prosocial and withdrawal strategies most whereas the most often used strategy among boys was aggression.

Extending Models of Prosocial Behavior to Explain University Alumni Contributions1

Abstract: Survey data merged with contribution records from a development office database provided a basis for understanding alumni support for a university The survey randomly sampled alumni of a state university school of management who had graduated between 1980 and 1988 Subjects filled out mail questionnaires measuring social psychological constructs from the literature on prosocial behavior The determinants of obligation to donate included perceived efficacy, perceived need, reciprocity, and individual attachment to the university Obligation and other constructs explained the number of donations recorded in the development office database over 6 years The model also predicted intentions to support the university by working for an alumni association or attending reunions This model of alumni donation leads to recommendations for designing university fund-raising communications

Children's friends and behavioral similarity in two social contexts.

Abstract: The general purpose of this study was to examine similarity between friends with respect to behavior. The specific goals were to consider; 1) different sources of evaluation (peer ratings and direct observations); 2) different social contexts (classroom and play group); and 3) different subtypes of aggressive behavior (proactive and reactive aggression). In the first phase of the study, sociometric assessments and peer evaluations of behavior were conducted in the school setting with third-grade boys and girls (n - 268). In the second phase, a subsample of boys participated in a series of play group sessions (n = 66). Direct observations and peer ratings of children's behavior were conducted in those sessions. Results showed in both social contexts a tendency towards similarity among friends, especially with respect to aggressive behavior. Separate analyses for subtypes of aggressive behavior revealed that the similarity hypothesis applied for proactive aggression but not for reactive aggression.

Moderators of Treatment Outcome in Cognitively Based Treatment of Antisocial Children

Abstract: This study examined cognitive/academic functioning and severity of clinical dysfunction as moderators of treatment outcome of cognitively based treatment among children (N = 120, ages 7 to 13 years) referred for aggressive and antisocial behavior. We predicted that more favorable treatment outcome would be evident among children higher in intellectual functioning, reading achievement, and level of school functioning, and with less severe and chronic symptoms of antisocial behavior and fewer symptoms across a range of diagnoses. The predictions were evaluated in relation to posttreatment behavioral problems and prosocial functioning at home and at school. Reading achievement, academic and school dysfunction, and number of symptoms across all diagnoses predicted treatment outcome. Additional analyses indicated that parent, family, and contextual factors (socioeconomic disadvantage, parent dysfunction, and adverse child-rearing practices) were related to child predictors, as well as to treatment outcome. The results convey the importance of child moderators of cognitive-behavioral treatment, as well as broader parent, family, and contextual influences in which these are embedded.

Child Rearing, Prosocial Moral Reasoning, and Prosocial Behaviour:

Abstract: This study examined the relations between child rearing, prosocial moral reasoning, and prosocial behaviour. The sample consisted of 125 children (6-11 years of age) and both their parents. Child-rearing behaviour was assessed by both observations at home and interviews with the parents; prosocial moral reasoning by interviews with the children, and prosocial behaviour by questionnaires filled in by their teachers and classmates. Positive relations were found between prosocial moral reasoning and prosocial behaviour, but only for the youngest children. Children growing up in a supportive, authoritative, and less restrictive environment behaved more prosocially and reasoned at a higher level about prosocial moral issues.