Prosocial Behaviour
Introduction
Prosocial behaviour is described as a voluntary behaviour in order to benefit someone else (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998). This prosocial behaviour such as sharing, helping, sympathy and empathy form an important part of the social interactions between individuals and groups and has thus been studied in terms of where these behaviours come from. To illustrate Eisenberg and Fabes ' quote (1998, pg 742) that prosocial behaviour is an outcome of a combination of many factors, five different possible causes of these behaviours will now be discussed.
Biological Determinants:
Research has shown that biological determinants do play some role in the individual differences in prosocial behaviour and empathic concern (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998). Evidence for this includes the following:(a) animals which display some helping and sharing behaviours, (b) identical twins who tend to score higher than fraternal twins on correlation of these behaviours, (c) 1- and 2-day old babies who will cry if another baby cries, (d) the limbic system being involved in empathy and (d) evolution which has shown that these behaviours are widespread in humans, and that these behaviours are common even in children. There tends to be a significant genetic component in the early years, as studies have showed children of 14 month and 20 months having significant genetic contributions to prosocial behaviour (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998).
Cultural Factors:
Different types of research have been performed investigating the role of culture in the development of prosocial behaviour. Some research has shown differences but others have not. This may be due to the fact that there are different cultural values and norms to compare, e.g. certain cultures place importance on different types of prosocial actions such as responding when asked and not asked. Moral reasoning is different across cultures which also making research difficult. Braten (1996) showed that 2-3 year olds across continents enact
Prosocial behaviour is described as a voluntary behaviour in order to benefit someone else (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998). This prosocial behaviour such as sharing, helping, sympathy and empathy form an important part of the social interactions between individuals and groups and has thus been studied in terms of where these behaviours come from. To illustrate Eisenberg and Fabes ' quote (1998, pg 742) that prosocial behaviour is an outcome of a combination of many factors, five different possible causes of these behaviours will now be discussed.
Biological Determinants:
Research has shown that biological determinants do play some role in the individual differences in prosocial behaviour and empathic concern (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998). Evidence for this includes the following:(a) animals which display some helping and sharing behaviours, (b) identical twins who tend to score higher than fraternal twins on correlation of these behaviours, (c) 1- and 2-day old babies who will cry if another baby cries, (d) the limbic system being involved in empathy and (d) evolution which has shown that these behaviours are widespread in humans, and that these behaviours are common even in children. There tends to be a significant genetic component in the early years, as studies have showed children of 14 month and 20 months having significant genetic contributions to prosocial behaviour (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998).
Cultural Factors:
Different types of research have been performed investigating the role of culture in the development of prosocial behaviour. Some research has shown differences but others have not. This may be due to the fact that there are different cultural values and norms to compare, e.g. certain cultures place importance on different types of prosocial actions such as responding when asked and not asked. Moral reasoning is different across cultures which also making research difficult. Braten (1996) showed that 2-3 year olds across continents enact
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