"Helping" Versus "Being a Helper": Invoking the Self to Increase Helping in Young Children. Issue 5 (29th April 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bryan, Christopher J.; Master, Allison; Walton, Gregory M.
• Is Part Of: Child development. Volume 85:Issue 5(2014)
• Page Start: 1836
• Page End: 1842
• Publication Date: 2014-04-29
• Subjects: Child development -- Periodicals; Child psychology -- Periodicals; Child Development -- Periodicals; Child Development; Pediatrics -- Periodicals; Pedicatrics; 305.231
• DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12244
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0009-3920

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="cdev12244-abs-0001"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>Can a subtle linguistic cue that invokes the self motivate children to help? In two experiments, 3‐ to 6‐year‐old children (<italic>N</italic> = 149) were exposed to the idea of "being a helper" (noun condition) or "helping" (verb condition). Noun wording fosters the perception that a behavior reflects an identity—the kind of person one is. Both when children interacted with an adult who referenced "being a helper" or "helping" (<xref ref-type="link" rid="cdev12244-sec-0002" />) and with a new adult (<xref ref-type="link" rid="cdev12244-sec-0009" />), children in the noun condition helped significantly more across four tasks than children in the verb condition or a baseline control condition. The results demonstrate that children are motivated to pursue a positive identity. Moreover, this motivation can be leveraged to encourage prosocial behavior.</p> </abstract>