Conceptual development of prosocial behaviors across childhood: the role of moral cognitions and moral emotions.

Abstract

In this chapter we reviewed main theoretical approaches and empirical evidences on the conceptual development of prosocial behavior and its importance across early childhood, focusing on the role of moral cognition and moral emotions. In the initial section of this chapter, we presented a general framework of the study of prosocial behavior in childhood and its benefits for children´s development. Then, we presented main antecedents of prosocial behavior related with the origin of the concept of the other. Next, we reviewed literature on the stability and the change of prosocial manifestations throughout childhood, in order to discuss the conceptual development of prosocial behavior and the role of moral reasoning and moral emotions on this development. Issues related with current debates around Piaget’s and Kholberg’s works were highlighted. Finally, the importance of an integrated model on the study of the conceptual development of prosocial behavior was discussed. Keywords: prosocial behavior; prosocial development; early childhood; cooperation; moral emotion; moral cognition; moral reasoning.