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21 - Children’s Intergroup Prosocial Behavior

The Role of Group Stereotypes

from Part III - Development of Prosociality in Context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2023

By
Jellie Sierksma
Edited by
Tina Malti  and
Maayan Davidov
Tina Malti
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Maayan Davidov
Affiliation:
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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Summary

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.

Keywords

prosocial behaviorintergroup relationsprejudicestereotypesdiscrimination
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Prosociality
Development, Mechanisms, Promotion
 , pp. 427 - 441
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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