Cultural Influences on Toddlers' Prosocial Behavior: How Maternal Task Assignment Relates to Helping Others
Moritz Köster1,2, Lilia Cavalcante3, Rafael Vera Cruz de Carvalho4
1University of Münster.
Abstract:
This cross-cultural study investigates how maternal task assignment relates to toddlers' requested behavior and helping between 18 and 30 months. One hundred seven mother-child dyads were assessed in three different cultural contexts (rural Brazil, urban Germany, and urban Brazil). Brazilian mothers showed assertive scaffolding (serious and insistent requesting), whereas German mothers employed deliberate scaffolding (asking, pleading, and giving explanations). Assertive scaffolding related to toddlers' requested behavior in all samples. Importantly, assertive scaffolding was associated with toddlers' helping in rural Brazil, whereas mothers' deliberate scaffolding related to toddlers' helping behavior in urban Germany. These findings highlight the role of caregivers' socialization practices for the early ontogeny of helping behavior and suggest culture-specific developmental pathways along the lines of interpersonal responsibility and personal choice.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Relationship with Parents: Attachment
Egoism and Altruism
Relationship with Other Adult Family Members and Siblings
Social Foundations of Self II: The Generalized Other


