Problem 3 Flashcards
What role does empathy play in Eisenberg’s theory of prosocial behavior?
- Eisenberg’s theory emphasizes a close link between reasoning, behavior, and prosocial actions.
- Feelings of empathy often lead to appropriate prosocial behavior.
How do individual differences affect empathy?
Some people may have a reduced capacity for empathy, possibly due to genetic factors. Psychopaths, for example, rarely feel intense emotions, including empathy.
How does empathy develop in young children?
- Initially, children may share distress through imitation.
- As they develop, their imitation becomes full-fledged empathy, leading them to try to comfort others.
What is the relationship between empathy and moral reasoning?
- Empathy allows children to act morally without relying on moral reasoning.
- Simply witnessing distress can trigger a desire to help.
What are the different types of empathy?
Emotional empathy: Feeling another’s emotions immediately.
Cognitive empathy: Understanding another’s emotional state and perspective.
Motor empathy: Physically mirroring another’s actions or emotions.
How does empathy relate to emotional regulation?
Children with better emotional regulation tend to show higher levels of both emotional and cognitive empathy.
How does social context influence empathy?
Empathy increases in cooperative situations but can decrease in competitive settings, sometimes leading to counterempathy (e.g., schadenfreude).
Development of empathy
First year of life: Infants may share others’ distress mostly as a form of imitation.
Shortly thereafter (toddlerhood): Imitation evolves into full-fledged empathy, where children begin to feel others’ distress and may attempt to alleviate it.
Age 3: Strong, immediate empathy can lead to behaviors like sharing a favorite doll.
Age 7 vs. Age 13: Younger children (age 7) show stronger schadenfreude (pleasure in others’ misfortune) compared to older children (age 13), which may relate to lower sharing behaviors.
Developmental differences in emotional vs. cognitive empathy:
Emotional empathy appears earlier, while cognitive empathy develops later and requires social cognitive skills.
Schadenfreude
is the feeling of pleasure or satisfaction at someone else’s misfortune or failure.
Important Studies
MRI Studies on Empathy and Schadenfreude
Studies using MRI scans show that brain areas related to empathy activate when people witness others in distress.
In contrast, schadenfreude activates reward-related areas in the brain, suggesting that different neural mechanisms underlie these emotions.
Empathy and Sharing Behavior
Children’s sharing behaviors correlate with their levels of empathy.
Younger children who exhibit stronger schadenfreude (age 7) are less likely to share compared to older children (age 13), suggesting a developmental shift in prosocial behavior.
Empathy in Toddlers and Altruistic Behavior
Research shows that toddlers as young as 14–18 months will help an adult in distress, even without expecting a reward.
This suggests that altruistic behavior emerges very early in development.
What are the key factors that make punishment effective?
Consistency in delivery
Administered by a warm, caring adult
Accompanied by a reasoned explanation
What are the developmental milestones related to punishment?
Young children (around 4 years old) struggle with understanding delayed consequences.
As children grow, they better internalize rules when explanations accompany punishment.
Adolescents are more likely to challenge harsh, authoritarian punishments
How does warmth and care impact the effectiveness of punishment?
Warm, caring adults make punishment more effective in promoting long-term moral behavior.
Cold, strict discipline may result in compliance only when authority figures are present.
- Why should punishment be used sparingly?
Overuse can lead to diminished perception of the adult as warm and caring.
Frequent punishment can reduce effectiveness and increase resistance.
How can adults help children recall past misbehaviors?
Reliving the act: asking the child to recall the event and their motivations.
Using cognitive techniques to link past behavior with present consequences
How does physical punishment vary across cultures?
In some cultures (e.g., African-American families), mild physical punishment is linked to positive outcomes.
In cultures where physical punishment is uncommon, it correlates more strongly with negative behavior.
Socioeconomic factors influence the prevalence and effects of physical punishment.
What are the associations between physical punishment and childhood outcomes?
More immediate compliance (large effect)
Greater risk of physical abuse (medium to large effect)
Increased antisocial behavior (medium effect)
Poorer mental health (medium effect)
Higher aggression (small to medium effect)
Less internalization of morals (small effect)
What are the long-term effects of physical punishment in adulthood?
Higher aggression (medium effect)
Increased antisocial behavior (small to medium effect)
Poorer mental health (small effect)
Greater likelihood of abusive relationships (small effect)
What is modeling theory?
Social learning theory suggests children imitate behaviors they observe.
More likely to imitate if they respect and like the model.
Can explain both prosocial and antisocial behavior development.
What was the Bobo doll study, and what did it show?
Conducted by Bandura, children watched an adult behave aggressively toward a toy.
Children imitated the aggressive behavior with high specificity.
Demonstrated that exposure to aggression increases aggressive behaviors in children.
How can modeling encourage prosocial behavior?
Children are more likely to imitate prosocial actions of warm, respected models.
Caregivers who model kindness and sharing increase the likelihood of those behaviors in children
Why does modeling theory need further development?
Explains how children imitate behavior but not why they choose specific role models.
Lacks a full explanation of how social context influences behavioral choices