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Bidirectional relations among empathy‐related traits, prosocial moral reasoning, and prosocial behaviors
Author(s) -
Mestre Maria Vicenta,
Carlo Gustavo,
Samper Paula,
Malonda Elizabeth,
Mestre Ana Llorca
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
social development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.078
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1467-9507
pISSN - 0961-205X
DOI - 10.1111/sode.12366
Subject(s) - prosocial behavior , empathy , psychology , empathic concern , moral reasoning , perspective taking , moral development , perspective (graphical) , developmental psychology , helping behavior , cognition , social cognition , social cognitive theory , social psychology , social cognitive theory of morality , artificial intelligence , neuroscience , computer science
This study examined the longitudinal links among empathic concern, perspective taking, prosocial moral reasoning, and prosocial behaviors. Four hundred and seventeen adolescents (225 girls; M age = 14.70 years) from public schools in Spain completed measures of those constructs in three successive years. Path analyses showed support for the notion that empathic concern and prosocial moral reasoning accounted for the relations between perspective taking in earlier adolescence and later altruistic and public forms of helping. Moreover, there was support for a reverse causal model such that empathic concern and prosocial moral reasoning mediated the relations between altruistic (but not public) helping behaviors in earlier adolescence and later perspective taking. The implications for cognitive developmental and social cognitive theories of prosocial development were discussed.