Catherine Lennox EDPS 650
§ What is prosocial behaviour? § How is prosocial behaviour related to altruism and empathy? § Is prosocial behaviour innate, learned, or both? § What is the role of school in developing prosocial behaviour?
https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2015/04/08/when-the-only-thing-to- do-is-react-keenan.html
“Voluntary actions that are intended to help or benefit another individual or group of individuals" (Eisenberg and Mussen, 1989) The psychology of giving, helping, and sharing Antonym of antisocial behaviour Key to harmonious interpersonal and group relations Studied widely since the 1970s
Prosocial Behaviour Altruism Pattern of activity Motivation to help others Action/consequence most out of pure regard for their important needs i.e., sharing, comforting, i.e., anonymous donation to rescuing, helping a person, group or institution
§ Empathy- the ability to understand and share the feelings of another § Underwood & Moore (1982)- found no relation between affective empathy and prosocial behavior § Eisenberg & Miller (1987)- empathy-related responding, especially sympathy, associated with pro-social behaviour § Thompson & Gullone (2003) - humane education may intervene in the cycle of abuse by decreasing a child's potential to be abusive toward animals, and, as a consequence, to promote prosocial behaviour toward humans
Prosocial behaviour rooted in our biology “Helping” is a preprogrammed biological function Communal cultures i.e. Hopi tribe Helping favoured over competition and self- assertion 1970s- Sociobiology Wilson (1975)- documented examples of “helping” within insects and animal species
Prosocial behaviour dependent on context. 1961- Milgram experiment Willingness to inflict “pain” on others when instructed by an authority figure “The legal and philosophic aspects of obedience are of enormous importance, but they say very little about how most people behave in concrete situations.”- Stanley Milgram
Prosocial behaviour dependent on context Latané and Judith Rodin (1969) The Bystander Effect Individuals less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present The greater the number of bystanders, the less likely that any one of them will help
§ Bartal (2011)- Rats will demonstrate empathy-driven behavior to free those trapped in restrainers; conclusion: social experiences not genetic or kin selection determine whether we help strangers out of empathy https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-01/uocm-sed010714.php § " Pro-social behavior appears to be determined only by social experience. It takes diverse social interactions during development or adulthood to expand helping behavior to more groups of unfamiliar individuals. Even in humans, studies have shown that exposure to diverse environments reduces social bias and increases pro-social behavior.” –Inbal Bartal, PhD
Peers Social relationships with peers become increasingly important in adolescence (Hartup, 1996) Children are more likely to display prosocial behaviours if best friends engage in these behaviours (Barry & Wentzel, 2006) Fuligni, Eccles, Barber, and Clements (2001) Peers with an extreme orientation towards peers (i.e. more likely to seek advice from peers than parents) showed more problem behaviour
Teachers Raskauskas, Gregory, Harvey, Rifshan & Evans (2009) § Involvement in bullying related to empathy and classroom climate § Bullies and bully/victims having lowest connection to school and poorest relationships with their teachers
Teachers Birch & Ladd (1998) § Relationship between kindergartners' ( N = 199; M age = 5 years 6 months) teacher-child relationships and behavioral orientations in grade one (i.e., conflict, closeness, dependency) § Prosocial behavior correlated with but not uniquely related to any feature of children's 1st-grade teacher-child relationships. § Some features of the teacher-child relationship (e.g., conflict) predicted changes in children's behavioral adjustment (e.g., decreasing prosocial behavior).
School Culture Lickona (1997) § Components of a “prosocial school” § Create a schoolwide culture in which each student has opportunities to see prosocial behaviors modeled by other students and by adults. Kidron & Fleischman (2006) § Train teachers to integrate values instruction into classroom management § Foster a caring community throughout the school § Use positive discipline practices § Schools can encourage prosocial behavior through schoolwide programs designed to teach and model social skills
§ Developed in Toronto, Canada in 1996 § Widely used in Canadian schools § An evidence-based classroom program that has shown significant effect in reducing levels of aggression and bullying among school children while raising social/emotional competence and increasing empathy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UMzSI wHDLs § Seeds of empathy- curriculum for preschool aged children (3-5)
Schonert-Reichl, Smith, Zaidman-Zait & Hertzman (2012) § Children in the ROE intervention classrooms showed significant improvement across several of the domains assessed: self-reports of causes for infant crying, peer nominations of prosocial behaviors, and teacher reports of proactive and relational aggression. § Self-reported empathy and perspective taking showed no significant changes. § Findings support positive impact of classroom-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs on children’s social development and behavioral adjustment.
"Stop and Think" Social Skills Program (Knoff): Part of Project ACHIEVE (Knoff and Batsche). Has demonstrated success in reducing student discipline referrals to the principal's office, school suspensions, and expulsions; fostering positive school climates and prosocial interactions; increasing students' on-task behavior; and improving academic performance. http://www.projectachieve.info Primary Mental Health Project (Cowen et al.) Targets children K-3 and addresses social and emotional problems that interfere with effective learning. It has been shown to improve learning and social skills, reduce acting, shyness and anxious behaviors, and increase frustration tolerances. http://www.sharingsuccess.org/code/eptw/profiles/48.html The EQUIP Program (Gibbs, Potter, & Goldstein) Offers a three-part intervention method for working with antisocial or behavior disordered adolescents. The approach includes training in moral judgment, anger management/correction of thinking errors, and prosocial skills. http://www.researchpress.com/scripts/product.asp?item=4848#5134 The PREPARE Curriculum (Goldstein) Presents a series of 10 course-length interventions grouped into three areas: reducing aggression, reducing stress, and reducing prejudice. It is designed for use with middle school and high school students but can be adapted for use with younger students. http://www.researchpress.com/scripts/product.asp?item=5063 The ACCEPTS Program (Walker et al) Offers a complete curriculum for teaching effective social skills to students at middle and high school levels. The program teaches peer-to-peer skills, skills for relating to adults, and self-management skills.
§ Teacher regarding the relationship of positive relationship and prosocial behaviour § Student education regarding the influence of prosocial behaviours on positive peer regard § Parent/teacher education regarding the influence of environment, modelling § Information for administration re: prosocial school culture § Promise of “humane” and/or empathy-based programs (i.e. Roots of Empathy)
§ Prosocial behaviour is voluntary action intended to help or benefit others § Prosocial behaviour is distinct from but related to altruism and empathy § Prosocial behaviour may be both innate and learned § Prosocial behaviour is influenced by the context and individaul variables § Multiple agents influence the development of prosocial behaviour § Teahers and peer groups play an important role in prosocial development § Schools can foster prosocial development through explicit teaching and school-wide modelling
Birch, S.H., & Ladd, G.W . (1997). The Teacher-Child Relationship and Children's Early School Adjustment. Journal of School Psychology , 35(1), 61-79. Eisenburg, N., & Mussen, P . (1989). The Roots of Prosocial Behaviour in Children . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Estell, D. B., Jones, M. H., Pearl, R., Van Acker, R., Farmer, T. W ., & Rodkin, P . C. (2008). Peer groups, popularity, and social preference: Trajectories of social functioning among students with and without learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 41 (1), 5-14. Hartup, W . W . (1996). The company they keep: Friendships and their developmental significance. Child Development, 67 (1), 1–13. Kidron, Y., & Fleischman. (1996). Research Matters / Promoting Adolescents' Prosocial Behavior. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational- leadership/apr06/vol63/num07/Promoting-Adolescents%27-Prosocial-Behavior.aspx
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