Altruistic Behavior: An Analysis of Age and Sex Differences

SKARIN, KURT, and MOELY, BARBARA E. Altruistic Behavior: An Analysis of Age and Sex Differences. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1976, 47, 1159-1165. The effects of a pretraining manipulation and partner sex on altruistic behaviors of children were investigated with boys and girls of ages 5-6, 7-9, and 10-12 years. Altruism was measured in a 2-person game in which the child designated numbers of tokens to be given to himself and to a sameor opposite-sex peer. Pretraining involved either a cooperation role-playing experience designed to increase altruistic behavior or a neutral role-playing experience. Analyses indicated that the effects of pretraining varied with the sex of the child and the sex of his or her partner in the game. Girls, with boys as partners, became less altruistic as a result of cooperation pretraining than were girls in the neutral pretraining condition. Boys and girls with same-sex partners showed only slight positive effects of pretraining. Females generally obtained higher altruism scores than boys, although 7-9-year-old girls were relatively low in altruism. An increase in altruistic behavior from ages 7-9 to 10-12 years may reflect increasing awareness of social role behaviors by both boys and girls.