Preschoolers' responses to peers' distress and beliefs about bystander intervention

The spontaneous responses of 27 3-5-yr-olds to the distress of their peers were recorded in the classroom. Individual interviews were also conducted to assess the children's understanding of social norms governing bystander intervention. Findings indicated that the children often paid attention to distressed peers, and many were capable of active intervention. Overall, however, a low rate of prosocial responding was observed. The interviews revealed that the children held systematic beliefs about how to aid a distressed companion, but did not believe they were supposed to help when competent adult caregivers were present.