Empathy And Prosocial Behavior Essay
Prosocial behavior is behavior that helps another without expecting anything back. Empathy is sensitivity to how somebody else is feeling "I feel your pain". A form of empathy can be found in infants by them crying in response to other children crying. At around age 2 children will show empathy by trying to help somebody in distress. An increase in empathy and prosocial behavior usually results in a decrease in aggressive behavior. Girls tend to show more empathy than boys. The reasons that girls tend to show more empathy is not really known. Empathy and prosocial behavior involves the perspective-taking skills which improves with age. Prosocial behavior does not expect rewards but there are usually rewards associated with it. Children who
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Aggressive behavior in toddlers is usually object oriented the word "mine" comes to mind. At this stage in their life they are more egocentric. As a toddler develops they are more likely to share. Toddlers also learn that other kids will tend to reject them if they are aggressive. At the age of 6 or 7 aggression takes the form of hostility and is oriented towards a specific person. Aggressive behavior can continue on into adulthood. Aggressive behavior may lead to criminal convictions, abuse, and drunk driving in adulthood. Biological and environmental factors can contribute to aggressive behavior. There are many theories on what contributes to aggressive behavior in children. One theory is the evolutionary theory which is basically the survival of the fittest. This theory assumes that aggressiveness is passed on genetically. It is also believed that the higher the testosterone level the more aggressive the child will be. Another theory relates to cognitive factors such as misinterpretation of another's actions, not being able to see from another's perspective, and lack of empathy. Yet another theory is the social cognitive theory which means the aggressive behavior is either learned from others and/or rewarding. It is also believed that media influences behavior by observational learning, disinhibition, increased arousal, priming of aggressive thoughts and memories, habituation (decrease in
Aggressive behavior in toddlers is usually object oriented the word "mine" comes to mind. At this stage in their life they are more egocentric. As a toddler develops they are more likely to share. Toddlers also learn that other kids will tend to reject them if they are aggressive. At the age of 6 or 7 aggression takes the form of hostility and is oriented towards a specific person. Aggressive behavior can continue on into adulthood. Aggressive behavior may lead to criminal convictions, abuse, and drunk driving in adulthood. Biological and environmental factors can contribute to aggressive behavior. There are many theories on what contributes to aggressive behavior in children. One theory is the evolutionary theory which is basically the survival of the fittest. This theory assumes that aggressiveness is passed on genetically. It is also believed that the higher the testosterone level the more aggressive the child will be. Another theory relates to cognitive factors such as misinterpretation of another's actions, not being able to see from another's perspective, and lack of empathy. Yet another theory is the social cognitive theory which means the aggressive behavior is either learned from others and/or rewarding. It is also believed that media influences behavior by observational learning, disinhibition, increased arousal, priming of aggressive thoughts and memories, habituation (decrease in