Prosocial Behaviour in Children

PYC4805

ASSIGNMENT 2

N SULIMAN

CONTENTS

Question 1 Child-rearing stylesPage 3

Part B Prosocial behviourPage 4

a Cultural FactorsPage 4

b Socialisation of prosocial behaviour within the familyPage 5

c The child's individual characteristicsPage 7

ConclusionPage 9

List of ReferencesPage 10

Assignment 2

Question 1

Child rearing styles

Child rearing styles are combinations of parenting behaviours which occur over different situations and creates an enduring child rearing climate. This is an important factor in the prosocial development of the child. According to Baumrind, 1971, Baumrind & Black (cited in Berk, 2013), there are three features which differentiate an effective style from a less effective one. These include acceptance of the child and involvement in the child's life which establishes an emotional connection with the child, behavioural control through expectations, rules and supervision which promotes more mature behaviour and thirdly, autonomy granting which fosters self reliance. There are four different child-rearing styles ,namely ,authoritative, authoritarian, permissive and uninvolved. The most successful of these approaches is the authoritative approach. (Berk, 2013). We will discuss the approaches the two parents in the research project used.

Both the parents in the research project are mothers but from different ethnic backgrounds. They are 29 and 31 respectively ,both with 3 children but the one is a housewife and the other a single working mother. The children are both 4 but the one is an eldest and the other the middle child. Parent two is clearly an authoritative parent and parent one seems to use both authoritarian and authoritative leaning slightly more towards the authoritarian approach. Authoritative parenting is positively correlated with prosocial behaviours ( Ogretir, 1999; Yagmurlu et al 2005, cited in Altay & Gure,2012). It comprises the three features listed above and also emphasizes communication,...