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Commitments to help by children: effects on subsequent prosocial self-attributions

R B Cialdini1, N Eisenberg, R Shell

  • 1Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe 85287.

The British Journal of Social Psychology
|September 1, 1987
PubMed

Insights

Children readily sacrifice recess for altruism. Private commitments boost self-perceived altruism, especially in girls, while public commitments do not influence self-attributions.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Child Psychology

Background:

  • Understanding the development of altruism in children is crucial for social development.
  • Investigating factors influencing prosocial behavior and self-perception is key.
  • Previous research highlights the role of commitment and social context in shaping behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine how public versus private commitments affect children's altruistic self-attributions.
  • To determine if children's willingness to uphold commitments is influenced by the visibility of the commitment.
  • To explore gender differences in the development of altruistic self-perceptions.

Main Methods:

  • Children made commitments to help hospitalized peers through sorting papers.
  • Commitments were made under either public or private conditions.
  • Willingness to sacrifice recess time and altruistic self-attributions were measured post-commitment.

Main Results:

  • Virtually all children honored their commitment, sacrificing recess time.
  • Private commitments led to increased altruistic self-attributions, unlike public commitments.
  • This effect was observed earlier in girls than boys and persisted for at least one month.

Conclusions:

  • Children can differentiate the self-implications of public versus private commitments.
  • Private commitments are more effective in fostering genuine altruistic self-perceptions in children.
  • Early intervention focusing on private commitments may enhance altruistic development in children.

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