The Prosocial Outgrowth of Filial Beliefs in Different Cultures: A Conditional Mediation Model Analysis

Filial piety is a concept originated from ancient China which contains norms of children’s feelings, attitudes, and behaviors toward their parents. The dual filial piety model (DFPM) differentiated two types of filial belief: reciprocal vs. authoritarian filial piety (RFP vs. AFP). Recent scholars suggest that the functions of filial piety may differ across cultures. This study examined the mediating effects of empathy, moral identity, gratitude, and sense of indebtedness in the relationship between filial piety and prosocial behavior (PB) and the moderating effects of nation. Questionnaires measuring filial piety, PB, moral identity, gratitude, and sense of indebtedness were administrated to Chinese and Indonesian participants. Moderated mediation modeling was conducted to analyze data. The results showed that empathy, moral identity, gratitude, and a sense of indebtedness have significant mediating effects in the association of filial piety and PB. And nation served as a moderator. (1) RFP could promote PB via enhanced empathy, moral identity, gratitude, and a sense of indebtedness, both among Chinese and Indonesian participants, while AFP did the same job only among Indonesian participants. (2) Among Chinese participants, AFP was not directly associated with PB, but was negatively associated with PB via reduced gratitude and a sense of indebtedness. (3) Nation (China vs. Indonesia) moderated the direct or indirect effect of RFP/AFP on PB, with RFP exerting stronger positive effects on outcome variables among Chinese (relative to Indonesian) participants and AFP exerting stronger positive effects on outcome variables among Indonesian (relative to Chinese) participants. These results showed that RFP can promote prosocial development by the cultivation of empathy, moral identity, gratitude, and a sense of indebtedness, regardless of whether the participants grew up in China or other cultural backgrounds. But the effect of AFP on PB was significantly conditioned by culture. This suggests that the function of RFP may be a cultural universal. However, the mechanisms that AFP influences PB can differ considerably across cultures. Findings of this study further indicate that filial piety beliefs may facilitate prosocial development in the ways conditioned by cultures.

Empathy and prosocial behaviour in early childhood: A review

The ability to empathise and understand others' emotions has been shown to have an impact on social interactions and prosocial behaviours. The objective of this review was to exploring the effect of parental empathy on the development of early childhood empathy and prosocial development. Seven databases were searched, including Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library, Pubmed, Science Direct and Google Scholar. A quality assessment rating showed studies relatively strong in methodology. The findings highlighted the association between empathetic parenting and the development of prosocial behaviour and empathy in early childhood. Research concluded that the quality of parental empathy was important alongside the increasing age of the child. Clinical studies would aid understanding into parental empathy, child empathy and prosocial behaviours.

Examining the Relationship Between College Students’ Interworldview Friendships and Pluralism Orientation

Background One of the most influential factors shaping college students’ prosocial development—the development of attitudes and behaviors that involve positive engagement within one's community and larger society—is the peer group. Friends have an especially important influence on students’ learning and development because of the time and emotional investment friendship involves. While ample research documents the association between college students’ friendships across racial differences and the development of prosocial attitudes and behaviors, the question of whether friendships across other social boundaries may also do so remains. Purpose This study was guided by the theory of civic friendship, which posits that friendships that cross social boundaries (e.g., religion, race) can foster positive attitudes toward people of other social identity groups and a commitment to justice because of the solidarity and attention to injustice that develop within such relationships. We focused on friendships across the social boundary of worldview identity. More inclusive of secular and spiritual students than “religious identity,” “worldview identity” is defined as a student's guiding life philosophy based on religious, spiritual, and/or non-religious perspective(s). Specifically, the purpose of our study was to examine the relationship between the number of interworldview friendships in the first year on campus and one particular prosocial attitude, pluralism orientation, which reflects acceptance of and active engagement with worldview diversity. Participants We utilized Time 1 and Time 2 data from the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey (IDEALS), a national, longitudinal dataset comprised of 7,194 first-year students of diverse racial and worldview identities at 122 U.S. institutions. Research Design We ran a series of blocked multilevel regression models to examine the relationship between the number of interworldview friendships and pluralism orientation at Time 2, controlling for four domains of variables shown in prior literature to also be associated with pluralism orientation. Results Results revealed that, holding constant other predictors, the number of interworldview friendships in the first year on campus is positively associated with pluralism orientation. Conclusions Our results provide additional support for the particularly powerful relationship between friendship across social differences and students’ prosocial development. It is essential, therefore, that colleges and universities create conditions that will help students develop and solidify these vital relationships early in their collegiate journey. By supporting interworldview friendships among their students, colleges and universities are contributing to the creation of a more just and egalitarian society and a stronger democracy.

Introduction to Special Section: Prosocial Development in Risky and Vulnerable Contexts

The introduction highlights a developmental perspective on children’s and youth prosocial behavior in risky and vulnerable contexts. The six empirical papers published in this Special Section are considered within a multilevel, multidimensional framework and reflect a diversity of methodological approaches. The studies each provide foundational work that informs theory, builds our knowledge base, and has important intervention implications. We highlight the contributions of each study and present recommendations for future developmental research on prosocial behaviors.

Ethnic-Racial and Religious Identity as Mediators of Relations Between Ethnic-Racial Socialization and Prosocial Behaviors Among Black Young Adults

Scholars have long asserted the importance of studying cultural socialization processes predicting prosocial behaviors, but studies on this topic among Black young adults are rare. The current study examined the mediating roles of ethnic-racial identity and religious identity in associations between ethnic-racial socialization and prosocial behaviors among Black young adults. Participants consisted of 208 Black young adults ( Mage = 19.90 years, SDage = 1.62, 73.6% women) from universities across the United States, who reported on their ethnic-racial socialization, ethnic-racial identity, religious identity, and prosocial behaviors. Mediation analyses showed that ethnic-racial identity and religious identity mediated the relation between ethnic-racial socialization and prosocial behavior. Our findings highlight the ways in which cultural socialization and identity processes foster prosocial behaviors among Black young adults. Discussion focuses on a culturally grounded and strengths-based understanding of prosocial development among Black young adults.

The Roles of Perspective Taking, Empathic Concern, and Prosocial Moral Reasoning in the Self-Reported Prosocial Behaviors of Filipino and Turkish Young Adults

Traditional social cognitive model of prosocial development suggests important links between both sociocognitive and socioemotive traits and prosocial behaviors. The present study examined the relations among perspective taking, empathic concern, prosocial moral reasoning, and public, emotional, compliant, and anonymous prosocial behaviors in Filipino and Turkish young adults to test the generalizability of this traditional model. Participants were 257 college students recruited from state universities in Ankara, Turkey (57 women, 83 men; Mage = 19.26 years, SD = 0.63) and Manila, the Philippines (75 women, 42 men; Mage = 18.41 years, SD = 1.44). Results showed that the relations among perspective taking, empathic concern, prosocial moral reasoning, and four types of self-reported prosocial behaviors were robust across two countries and gender. Perspective taking was positively related to empathic concern, which, in turn, was positively related to emotional and compliant prosocial behaviors. Perspective taking was also positively related to prosocial moral reasoning, which, in turn, was positively related to anonymous and negatively related to public prosocial behaviors. Overall, the findings provide support for the generalizability of traditional model of prosocial development and extend our understanding of prosocial behaviors to two non-Western, collectivist-oriented societies.

Individual, relational, and cultural correlates of U.S. Latino/a college students' prosocial behaviors

Prosocial behaviors, or actions intended to benefit others, are important social behaviors that people conduct towards others. These behaviors can be motivated by a host of variables, including individual-level characteristics, relational-level considerations, and culture-specific values. Socioemotive, sociocognitive, and cultural variables have all been studied as important correlates of prosocial behaviors. In addition, maternal and paternal support may play a role in the internalization of these moral motivations. The goal of this study was to test a series of models using both variable-centered and person-centered statistical approaches to investigate how individual-level characteristics, relational-level variables, and culture-specific values both interrelate and simultaneously affect prosocial behaviors. The study used questionnaire measures completed by 250 U.S. Latino/a college students (M age = 21.0 years; 62.0% women). Latent profile analysis and path analysis were used to examine relations among empathic concern, perspective taking, familism, maternal and paternal support, and prosocial behaviors. This research can lend support for culture-specific models of prosocial development that simultaneously account for individual-level, relational-level, and culture-specific characteristics.