Neighborhood Deprivation Negatively Impacts Children’s Prosocial Behavior

Frontiers in Psychology

Coralie Chevallier¹  Mark Sheskin¹  Lou Safra¹  Nicolas Baumard¹  Stéphane Lambert¹  Teodora Tecu² 

[1] Ecole Normale Supérieure - PSL Research University;University of Bucharest;

关键词: Poverty;    deprivation;    dictator game;    SES;    prosociality;    Behaviral Ecology;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01760

来源: DOAJ

【 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 towards strangers is markedly decreased in low 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 39 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 towards a stranger than children living in the less harsh neighborhood.

【 授权许可】

Unknown