Neighborhood Deprivation Negatively Impacts Children’s Prosocial Behavior

Frontiers in Psychology

Lou Safra¹ 

关键词: prosociality;    poverty;    deprivation;    behavioral ecology;    SES;    dictator game;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01760

学科分类：心理学（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Children show stronger cooperative behavior in experimental settings as they get older, but little is known about how the environment of a child shapes this development. In adults, prosocial behavior toward strangers is markedly decreased in low socio-economic status (SES) neighborhoods, suggesting that environmental harshness has a negative impact on some prosocial behaviors. Similar results have been obtained with 9-year-olds recruited from low vs. high SES schools. In the current study, we investigate whether these findings generalize to a younger age group and a developing country. Specifically, we worked with a sample of thirty-nine 6- to 7-year-olds in two neighborhoods in a single city in Romania. Using a “Quality Dictator Game” that offers greater resolution than previous measures, we find that children living in the harsher neighborhood behave less prosocially toward a stranger than children living in the less harsh neighborhood.

【 授权许可】

CC BY