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The Emergence of Prosocial Behavior: Why Do Infants and Toddlers Help, Comfort, and Share?
Author(s) -
Paulus Markus
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
child development perspectives
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1750-8606
pISSN - 1750-8592
DOI - 10.1111/cdep.12066
Subject(s) - prosocial behavior , psychology , developmental psychology , cognition , helping behavior , social cognition , cognitive development , neuroscience
The early development of prosocial behavior has become a major topic in developmental psychology. Although findings on the early presence of prosocial tendencies in infants and toddlers have received much attention and the examination of their subsequent developmental pathways has fostered ample research, little is known about the mechanisms and motives that bring about the first emergence of these prosocial actions. In this article, I introduce and review theoretical approaches, then evaluate them in light of recent findings. I conclude that the forms of early prosocial behavior are related to different social‐cognitive mechanisms and underpinned by various motives.