Prosocial Behavior, Social Inferential Ability, and Assertiveness in Children

BARRETT, DAVID E., and YARROW, MARIAN RADKE. Prosocial Behavior, Social Inferential Ability, and Assertiveness in Children. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 475-481. Prosocial behavior in 5-8-year-old children was examined in relation to social inferential ability and assertiveness. It was hypothesized that assertiveness would be a significant predictor of prosocial behavior but that the strength of the relation would depend on the child's ability to make inferences about others' behaviors. 39 boys and 40 girls attending a summer day camp were each observed over a 6-week period and their assertive and prosocial behaviors recorded. Inferential ability was assessed by asking the child to interpret a series of videotaped social episodes in which an affective experience brought about an abrupt change in the central character's behavior. Correct interpretation depended on the subject's comprehending the relation between the earlier events in the sequence and the change in behavior. As hypothesized, assertiveness was positively and significantly related to prosocial behavior for high inferential ability subjects while no significant relations were identified in the low inferential ability group.