title: Children's Sympathy, Guilt, and Moral Reasoning in Helping, Cooperation, and Sharing: A 6-Year Longitudinal Study.
abstract: This study examined the role of sympathy, guilt, and moral reasoning in helping, cooperation, and sharing in a 6-year, three-wave longitudinal study involving 175 children (Mage6.10, 9.18, and 12.18 years). Primary caregivers reported on children's helping and cooperation; sharing was assessed behaviorally. Child sympathy was assessed by self- and teacher reports, and self-attributed feelings of guilt-sadness and moral reasoning were assessed by children's responses to transgression vignettes. Sympathy predicted helping, cooperation, and sharing. Guilt-sadness and moral reasoning interacted with sympathy in predicting helping and cooperation; both sympathy and guilt-sadness were associated with the development of sharing. The findings are discussed in relation to the emergence of differential motivational pathways to helping, cooperation, and sharing.
authors.affiliation: University of Toronto.
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Malti
authors.affiliation: University of Toronto.
authors.forename: Sophia F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Ongley
authors.affiliation: University of Toronto.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peplak
authors.affiliation: University of Toronto.
authors.forename: Maria P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Chaparro
authors.affiliation: University of Zurich.
authors.forename: Marlis
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buchmann
authors.affiliation: Liverpool Hope University.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zuffianò
authors.affiliation: New York University Shanghai.
authors.forename: Lixian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cui
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002657:Child Development; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006167:Guilt; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009014:Morals; D013850:Thinking