title: Cultural Influences on Toddlers' Prosocial Behavior: How Maternal Task Assignment Relates to Helping Others.
abstract: This cross-cultural study investigates how maternal task assignment relates to toddlers' requested behavior and helping between 18 and 30 months. One hundred seven mother-child dyads were assessed in three different cultural contexts (rural Brazil, urban Germany, and urban Brazil). Brazilian mothers showed assertive scaffolding (serious and insistent requesting), whereas German mothers employed deliberate scaffolding (asking, pleading, and giving explanations). Assertive scaffolding related to toddlers' requested behavior in all samples. Importantly, assertive scaffolding was associated with toddlers' helping in rural Brazil, whereas mothers' deliberate scaffolding related to toddlers' helping behavior in urban Germany. These findings highlight the role of caregivers' socialization practices for the early ontogeny of helping behavior and suggest culture-specific developmental pathways along the lines of interpersonal responsibility and personal choice.
authors.affiliation: University of Münster.|University of Osnabrück.
authors.forename: Moritz
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9951-7741
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Köster
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Pará.
authors.forename: Lilia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cavalcante
authors.affiliation: University of the State of Rio de Janeiro.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vera Cruz de Carvalho
authors.affiliation: University of São Paulo.
authors.forename: Briseida
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dôgo Resende
authors.affiliation: University of Münster.
authors.forename: Joscha
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kärtner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting / Q000208:ethnology*; D012424:Rural Population; D012919:Social Behavior; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult