Do attributional feedback and self-concept influence child prosocial behavior in

描述（由申请人提供）：童年中期的亲社会行为与教育和职业成功以及青春期和成年期反社会行为的弹性有关；因此，更好地理解亲社会行为在童年中期被鼓励的过程是至关重要的。本研究整合了两个关键领域来阐明儿童中期亲社会行为的发展。首先，沟通孩子行为的原因是很重要的。关于归因反馈的新兴文献表明，以人为中心的反馈（例如，儿童的成功是由于智力）和以过程为中心的反馈（例如，儿童的成功是由于努力或战略选择）对儿童的学业和任务表现有很强的影响。然而，归因反馈在一般社会行为，特别是亲社会行为方面的研究较少。在将归因反馈的文献应用于亲社会行为时，一个关键的方法论障碍是为儿童提供了一个需要克服的挑战。试点研究产生了一种新的、生态有效的范式，用于评估儿童在人际挑战后亲社会行为的变化。因此，本研究将首次探讨儿童亲社会行为的归因反馈如何影响人际挑战后的后续亲社会行为。第二个需要整合的关键领域是儿童的自我概念。儿童中期的发展转变尤其重要，因为儿童的自我概念在这个时候转变为包含特征。对一些孩子来说，善良或善解人意可能对他们的自我意识至关重要，而对另一些孩子来说，则不然。由于对特质的归因被认为是通过关注自我来影响儿童的行为，儿童的亲社会自我概念可能会改变以人为中心的反馈对儿童亲社会行为的影响。本研究将首次探讨儿童自我概念是否会调节归因反馈对亲社会行为的影响。本研究以102名9 ~ 10岁儿童为研究对象，通过实验操作和多方法测量儿童自我概念和亲社会行为。这项研究将通过(a)解决关于儿童对自身特征的反思如何影响其行为的对比理论解释和(b)揭示鼓励亲社会行为的过程来推进儿童发展科学。新的方法论范式将由此产生。采用生态效度高的实验方法，增强了结果在发展心理学、社会心理学、临床心理学和教育心理学中的适用性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Prosocial behavior in middle childhood is linked to educational and occupational success and resiliency to antisocial behavior in adolescence and adulthood; thus, it is critical to better understand processes through which prosocial behavior may be encouraged in middle childhood. In the proposed research, two key areas are integrated to illuminate the development of prosocial behavior in middle childhood. First, communication about the reasons for children's behavior is important. The burgeoning literature on attributional feedback demonstrates strong influences of person-focused feedback (e.g., child's success is due to intelligence) and process-focused feedback (e.g., child's success is due to effort or strategic choices) on children's academic and task performance. Attributional feedback, however, has been less studied in relation to social behavior in general and prosocial behavior in particular. A critical methodological obstacle in applying the literature on attributional feedback to prosocial behavior is providing a challenge for children to surmount. Pilot research yielded a novel, ecologically-valid paradigm for assessing children's change in prosocial behavior following an interpersonal challenge. Thus, this research will be the first to examine how attributional feedback about children's prosocial behavior influences subsequent prosocial behavior following interpersonal challenge. The second key area to be integrated regards children's self-concept. The developmental shift in middle childhood is especially important, as children's self-concept transforms at this time to encompass traits. For some children, being kind or empathetic may become centrally important to their sense of self, whereas for others, it will not. Because attributions about traits are presumed to affect children's behavior by focusing attention on the self, children's prosocial self-concept may alter the impact of person-focused feedback on children's prosocial behavior. This research will be the first to address whether children's self-concept moderates the effect of attributional feedback on prosocial behavior. These aims will be addressed through experimental manipulation and multi-method measurement of children's self-concept and prosocial behavior with 102 nine- and ten-year-old children. This research will advance the science of child development by (a) resolving contrasting theoretical explanations about how children's reflection on their own traits influences their behavior and (b) shedding light on the processes through which prosocial behavior can be encouraged. Novel methodological paradigms will result. Use of experimental methods high in ecological validity strengthens the applicability of results for developmental, social, clinical, and educational psychology. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Given the increased emphasis on character education in public schools, and the recent positive psychology movement toward understanding how character strengths such as altruism may promote resilience and well- being, findings from the proposed research may have important direct relevance for educational practice and for intervention and prevention programs aimed at promoting children's socio-emotional development.