Browsing by Subject "Interpersonal relations in children"

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    Desire understanding and prosocial behavior: the relationship between early development of theory of mind and the social processes of preschool-age children
    (2003) Odessey, Rebecca; Carlson, Katharine L.; Martinez, Nicole; Boltz, Marilyn; Cassidy, Kimberly Wright
    This study explores the relationship between desire understanding and prosocial behavior. A sample of 49 children, ranging from 3 to 5 years of age, was given a battery of desire understanding tasks. Prosocial behavior, as comprised of prosocial orientation, social initiative, and selflessness, was measured by teacher and parent reports. Overall desire understanding was related to teacher ratings of prosocial behavior. This significant correlation remained when controlling for selfishness. Effects of age and "risk status" were also found. Implications of teacher bias within the classroom, factors influencing the development of prosocial behavior, and a possible interaction between these two components are discussed.
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    Desire Understanding as Related to Prosocial Behavior in Preschoolers
    (2003) Carlson, Katharine L.; Cassidy, Kimberly Wright; Boltz, Marilyn
    This study was designed to investigate the relationship between preschoolers' understanding of others' desires and prosocial behavior. Participants included children between the ages of three and five. Desire understanding was measured using tasks ranging in difficulty and included simple desire, conflicting/inferring desire, and wicked desire tasks. Prosocial behavior was rated and recorded in questionnaire form by teachers and parents. Teacher ratings of prosocial behavior were found to be significantly positively correlated with desire understanding in preschoolers, with older children performing significantly better than younger children in both areas as well. Differences in performance based on environmental differences, or "risk status," are discussed. These findings build on previous theory of mind research and have implications for early educational programs.
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    Preschoolers' desire understanding and its relation to prosocial behavior
    (2003) Martinez, Nicole; Cassidy, Kimberly Wright
    Theory of mind in humans allows for communication, interaction and socialization. Through the development of a theory of mind children understand first that others have desires, and after this an understanding of belief develops, resulting in a complete theory of mind. The present study investigates the desire portion of theory of mind and its relationship to the amount and quality of prosocial behaviors preschool children engage in, as measured by teachers and parents. Prosocial behavior and desire understanding were significantly correlated, when prosocial actions were rated by teachers, while parent ratings of prosocial behavior were not related to levels of desire understanding. The effects of age, gender and classroom designation on prosocial behavior and desire understanding are examined and implications for future research are discussed.