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Related Concept Videos

Persuasion Strategies01:52

Persuasion Strategies

Researchers have tested many persuasion strategies, including the foot-in-the door and the door-in-the-face techniques, in a variety of contexts. Ultimately, the principles are effective in selling products and changing people’s attitude, ideas, and behaviors (Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004).
Parenting Styles01:27

Parenting Styles

Diana Baumrind's four parenting styles — authoritarian, authoritative, neglectful, and permissive — each influence children's socio-emotional development differently.
Authoritarian Parenting
This style is strict and controlling, with little room for open dialogue. Authoritarian parents demand obedience and often enforce rules with minimal warmth. Children raised this way may lack social skills and initiative, usually comparing themselves to others unfavorably.
Authoritative Parenting
This...
Role of Shaping in Operant Conditioning01:19

Role of Shaping in Operant Conditioning

Shaping is a technique used in operant conditioning to train complex behaviors by rewarding successive approximations toward the target behavior. This method is necessary because organisms are unlikely to perform complex behaviors spontaneously. Instead, shaping breaks down the desired behavior into small, manageable steps.
The steps involved in shaping begin with reinforcing any response that resembles the desired behavior. For example, parents might praise a child for picking up one toy. As...
Social Foundations of Self II: The Generalized Other01:20

Social Foundations of Self II: The Generalized Other

According to George Herbert Mead, as children progress beyond the game stage, they develop a more comprehensive understanding of societal rules and norms. This cognitive and social development enables them to internalize the expectations of the broader community, refining their ability to regulate behavior.Consistent participation in organized activities is crucial in helping children recognize that their actions are not isolated but contribute to a more significant, interconnected group effort.
Behaviorism01:28

Behaviorism

The field of behaviorism was pioneered by figures such as Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and B.F. Skinner fundamentally shifted the focus of psychology to the observable and controllable aspects of human and animal behavior. This shift marked a critical evolution in the discipline, emphasizing scientific rigor and experimental methodology.
The core premise of behaviorism is its focus on observable behavior rather than internal thoughts or feelings. This approach argues that true scientific...
Observational Learning01:12

Observational Learning

Albert Bandura's observational learning, also known as imitation or modeling, occurs when a person observes and imitates another's behavior. It is a quicker process than operant conditioning. A well-known example is the Bobo doll study, where children who saw an adult acting aggressively towards the doll were more likely to act aggressively when left alone, compared to those who observed a nonaggressive adult. Many psychologists view observational learning as a form of latent learning because...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 8, 2026

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice
07:07

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice

Published on: June 5, 2016

Giving preschoolers choice increases sharing behavior.

Nadia Chernyak1, Tamar Kushnir

  • 1Department of Human Development, Cornell University.

Psychological Science
|August 20, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Children

Keywords:
altruismchoicecognitive developmentmoralitypreschoolersprosocial behavior

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Behavioral Economics

Background:

  • Young children exhibit significant prosocial behavior.
  • The underlying mechanisms of early altruism remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of choice in shaping children's altruistic behavior.
  • To test the hypothesis that autonomous, costly choices enhance subsequent prosociality.

Main Methods:

  • Three- and 4-year-old children were assigned to one of three conditions: costly choice, noncostly choice, or no choice.
  • Children made resource allocations to an individual in need under these conditions.
  • Subsequent prosocial behavior was measured by resource allocation to a different individual.

Main Results:

  • While most children shared resources, those who made a costly choice subsequently shared more.
  • Children in the noncostly choice and no-choice conditions showed less subsequent prosociality compared to the costly choice group.

Conclusions:

  • The experience of making autonomous, costly choices appears to foster greater altruistic behavior in young children.
  • This suggests children may infer their own prosociality from the difficulty and autonomy of their choices.