Prosocial Behaviour in Children

Developmental Psychology 2006, Vol. 42, No. 5, 771–786

Copyright 2006 by the American Psychological Association 0012-1649/06/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.42.5.771

Prosocial Behavior From Early to Middle Childhood: Genetic and Environmental Influences on Stability and Change

Ariel Knafo

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Robert Plomin

King’s College

Prosocial behavior is important for the functioning of society. This study investigates the extent to which environment shared by family members, nonshared environment, and genetics account for children’s prosocial behavior. The prosocial behavior of twins (9,424 pairs) was rated by their parents at the ages of 2, 3, 4, and 7 and by their teachers at age 7. For parent ratings, shared environmental effects decreased from .47 on average at age 2 to .03 at age 7, and genetic effects increased from .32 on average to .61. The finding of weak shared environmental effects and large heritability at age 7 was largely confirmed through the use of teacher ratings. Using longitudinal genetic analyses, the authors conclude that genetic effects account for both change and continuity in prosocial behavior and nonshared environment contributes mainly to change. Keywords: prosocial behavior, development, genetics, TEDS

One of the most important aspects of humans, distinguishing us from other species, is the degree of helping, cooperation, and altruism among people (Fehr & Fischbacher, 2003). Prosocial behavior, that is, behavior intended to benefit others (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998), is often considered as the basis of human relationships (Staub, 1979). Prosocial children are relatively well-adjusted and have better peer relationships than do children low in prosocial behavior (e.g., Clark & Ladd, 2000). The growing interest in positive human behavior is manifested in a call by Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) to study its antecedents. This study addresses the etiology of one positive aspect of human behavior,...