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17 - Assessing Prosociality

An Early Ontogeny Perspective

from Part II - Antecedents and Mechanisms of Prosociality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2023

By
Robert Hepach
Edited by
Tina Malti  and
Maayan Davidov
Tina Malti
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Maayan Davidov
Affiliation:
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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Summary

The research methods we use to assess prosociality in young children are the ultimate arbiter for our understanding of prosocial development. The theoretical conclusions we base on empirical data are nested, if not entirely rooted, in the ways in which we measure and statistically model children’s prosociality. This chapter focuses on early ontogeny and systematizes the landscape of research methodologies currently used to study prosocial development. It offers a critical reflection on some of the methodological and statistical constraints under which current research on prosocial development is being conducted. The chapter closes by arguing that new technological advances have paved the way for a more inclusive and systematic study of prosociality in the early years of development. Embracing these ongoing efforts will require a new kind of discussion about the ways in which we statistically model development and how we draw inferences about “significant” effects in early ontogeny.

Keywords

prosocialityhelpingearly childhoodmethodsassessmentdevelopmentstatistical modeling
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Prosociality
Development, Mechanisms, Promotion
 , pp. 335 - 358
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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