In the final chapter, we review the framework for perspective taking that we have developed in the book and highlight what we feel are the most important elements. In that context, we return to the questions raised in the introductory chapter about the relationship between perspective taking in reading literature and perspective taking in real life. We conclude that although the effects of literary perspective taking on general social cognition are debatable, there is much clearer evidence for effects on specific prosocial attitudes. We also suggest future directions for further empirical research.

A neurobiological perspective can inform us about the proximate mechanisms of prosocial behavior. Brain regions involved in empathic processing have been implicated in prosocial behaviors. However, prosocial behavior is dependent on regions beyond those involved in empathy. We outline recent meta-analyses that have converged on the finding that regions implicated in reward processing also play key roles in prosocial behaviors as do ventromedial and dorsolateral regions of the prefrontal cortex. We describe instances in which empathic processing is affected – in psychiatric conditions or following psychopharmacological interventions – and what consequences this can have for the neural correlates of prosocial behavior. We emphasize the need to have clear definitions of concepts like “empathy” and “prosocial behavior,” as these will ultimately inform the behavioral tasks used to measure the neural underpinnings of these phenomena. Finally, we discuss how advancements in neuroscientific techniques could further our understanding of the neurocognitive basis of prosocial behavior.

This chapter provides an overview of the similarities and differences in the development of prosociality across cultural contexts and examines the role of social cognitive and motivational factors in shaping cultural diversity. We focus on helping and sharing, examined most extensively across cultures. Low-cost helping and sharing show similar developmental trajectories and levels across cultures. Development of costly helping diverges across cultures in the second year. Costly sharing diverges around middle childhood, coinciding with children’s adherence to cooperative norms of their society. Social cognitive foundations of prosociality develop along similar trajectories, suggesting that diversity in costly prosocial behaviors is best explained by motivational processes. New research suggests that collaboration influences motivational processes, producing similar levels of costly prosociality across diverse societies. To identify the psychological and sociocultural mechanisms underlying human development, it is critical to merge deep understanding of the everyday lives of children with theoretically guided experiments.

Children are prosocial from a young age onward, but their prosocial actions are not necessarily egalitarian. From around 4 years of age children tend to help and share more with in-group members compared with out-group members. However, a growing body of findings also suggest that sometimes children act more prosocially toward out-group members. How can we reconcile such seemingly contradicting behaviors? Here, the author describes how the salience of group stereotypes might shed light on these inconsistent findings. Specifically, different helping contexts can activate different group stereotypes. These different stereotypes could lead children to sometimes act more prosocially toward in-group peers, but sometimes show out-group bias in their helping or sharing behavior. Taking into account group stereotypes in children’s prosocial behavior will provide a deeper understanding of the underlying motivations that lead to selective prosociality in children and, in the long run, contribute to combating discrimination and prejudice early in life.

There is limited research examining community and neighborhood influences on prosociality in children and youth. In this chapter we outline three relevant theories that address how neighborhood and community processes influence prosocial behavior and review the empirical literature on the topic. Our review suggests that measures of neighborhood socioeconomic status, demography, and disorder have little direct association with prosociality in children and youth but that adolescent prosocial behavior is linked to social capital and collective efficacy. The community intervention evidence shows that providing increased opportunities for prosocial involvement may support greater prosocial behavior of adolescents, possibly by boosting community social capital. Further development of more specific theoretical models and further empirical research is required to better understand the complex neighborhood and community mechanisms across neighborhoods, cities, nations, and cultures.

For four decades, developmental scientists have been examining the links between children’s and adolescents’ prosociality and the activity of their peripheral physiological systems. In this chapter, we review the theories and studies that evaluate these links. In particular, we emphasize that the developmental psychophysiology of prosociality needs to be understood as involving dynamic and nonlinear processes occurring within the immediate contexts of evocative situations and shaped by the enduring contexts of close relationships.

There has been much debate on the origins of prosocial behavior: do humans come into the world ready to help others, or is this something that must be learned? In this chapter, we approach this question by examining evidence on the ontogenetic and phylogenetic roots of prosocial behavior. First, we examine work with young children, focusing on the earliest developing prosocial behaviors of helping, comforting, and sharing. We then complement this developmental evidence with studies on chimpanzees and bonobos to gain insight into which elements of prosocial behavior might be evolutionarily inherited. Taken together, this evidence suggests that humans have a biological predisposition for prosocial behavior that we share with our ape cousins and that human-specific socialization practices build on this foundation throughout the course of development.

Children and adolescents spend a great deal of time with a variety of media, raising the important question of whether media might influence the socialization of children. Although copious research has found consistent links between violent media content and children’s aggression, research has also found that prosocial media influences the development of prosocial behavior for both children and adolescents. Thus, in this chapter we review theoretical justifications for why and how prosocial media content impacts young people, and then synthesize existing research on the effects of different mediums of prosocial media on child outcomes. This review includes traditional media (e.g., TV, movies, video games, music, books) and new media (e.g., cell phones, tablets, social media). We then discuss the policy implications of links between prosocial media and prosocial behavior, and provide important avenues for future research.

In this chapter, we review developmental theories of prosocial behavior. We begin by briefly discussing the ways in which the grand theories of development have been used to explain prosocial development, as well as some of the major biologically oriented arguments. We then present a comprehensive model of prosocial behavior that includes the multiple individual and contextual factors that contribute to prosocial actions in children. Next, we discuss the multidimensional nature of young children’s prosocial behavior – a topic of considerable research in the last decade – and suggest ways that the comprehensive model is relevant for prosocial development in very young children.

This chapter describes the development of prosocial motives and the social contexts within which these motives emerge and differentiate. Initially, prosocial behavior is based on a blend of motives, namely, participating in social interaction and early forms of feeling for others. During early childhood, concern-based guilt emerges and mere participation transforms into contributing to collaborative activities. During childhood, the normative turn complements these motives by a sense of obligation (living up to), and, during adolescence, aspiring to one’s ideal self can become an important prosocial motive. In this sense, doing good often is an expression of central human motives, namely, belonging to others, feeling for others, contributing to joint endeavors, affirming a sense of responsibility and normative obligation, and striving for our ideal selves.

Broad constructs of positive parenting (e.g., sensitivity, warmth) have been shown to contribute to children’s prosociality across a variety of ages and cultures. However, because both prosociality and parent-child relationships are complex, multifaceted constructs, a more fine-grained analysis is needed in order to understand the different pathways by which parents can facilitate children’s prosocial development. This chapter offers such an analysis, by reviewing work on how distinct features, or domains, of parenting can promote different motivations and skills that support prosocial action. Bidirectional effects and cultural influences are also considered, and implications for research and practice are outlined.

Siblings are often overlooked as a source of social influence. Addressing this gap, we review findings from studies spanning the transition to siblinghood through adolescence. We have identified four features of sibling relationships that help explain siblings’ powerful influence on children’s prosocial behavior: sibling relationships are (1) emotionally unfettered; (2) diagonal, especially in the early years; (3) familiar; and (4) long-lasting. Research is framed by several distinct theoretical perspectives, including attachment theory, ethology, family systems theory, and cognitive accounts of theory of mind development. Sibling influences also take many forms that vary in salience across the different aspects of prosocial behavior and distinct developmental periods. Over time, sibling influences show both stability and change, but appear independent from parental influences – although evidence is scarce for some groups. Finally, we discuss future directions, as well as conclusions regarding the nature, motivation, and impact of sibling influences on prosocial behavior.

We review findings regarding genetic effects on prosociality, while considering the multifaceted nature of this trait. We begin with reviewing quantitative genetic studies, particularly twin studies, which attempt to estimate the overall genetic contributions to prosociality and its components. We also discuss molecular genetic designs, while considering the methodological shift of focus from the study of candidate genes (i.e., specific genes that relate to phenotype) into genome-wide association studies (which study many polymorphisms across the genome). We then address the complex interplay of environmental and genetic effects, and present findings of gene-environment correlations and interactions. Throughout this chapter we also present findings regarding genetic effects in relevant constructs such as the personality trait of agreeableness and empathy, which could suggest underlying motivational mechanisms for prosocial behavior. We then present a developmental perspective on the topic, and conclude with discussing possible implications of this line of research and future directions.

Schooling transforms child development yet fades into the background in research on prosocial behavior. Mass education, however, was central to the concerns of founding theorists such as Durkheim, Dewey, and Piaget. Putting on a sociological lens makes it easier to see how schools continue to play an active role in prosocial development, and how the concerns of these founding researchers resonate today. To situate the active role of school contexts in prosocial behavior, this chapter first examines schools as social systems, structuring children’s social networks, imposing roles and norms of behavior, and impacting the timing of development. The chapter then examines classroom, pedagogical, and peer prosocial behaviors, and their connection to classic theoretical work in the field. After reviewing these forms of prosocial behavior, the chapter closes by examining the links between prosocial behavior and student outcomes and implications and future directions for theory, research, and practice.

This chapter focuses on the role of gender in the development of empathy and prosocial behavior in adolescence. Although it is a commonly held belief and a well-replicated research finding that females report higher empathy and prosocial behavior than do males, much is still unclear about the nature and meaning of this gender difference. After discussing definitions of the constructs, theoretical perspectives on biological, cognitive, and social contributions to gender differences in prosocial development are summarized. Then empirical evidence on gender differences in empathy and in prosocial behavior in adolescence are reviewed, with a particular focus on results of (1) longitudinal studies, (2) studies that take the multidimensionality of empathy and prosocial behavior into account, and (3) multimethod studies. Finally, implications and future directions are discussed.