ERIC Number: ED235906
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1983-Aug
Pages: 38
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Mood and Sharing Condition Effects on the Display of Altruism.
Levine, Douglas W.; And Others
A three-stage developmental model of the socialization of altruism as a reinforcer was tested. The model posits mood as a mediator of helping behavior. The first stage of the model is characterized by a relatively low level of altruistic responding, regardless of mood state, among preschool children; the second by the acquisition, among primary-school-age children, of norms for social behavior; the third by the internalization of reward among adolescents. Following the induction of either a sad or a neutral mood, 192 children in three school-age groups were given an opportunity to share under either a public or private sharing condition. Age groups consisted of kindergarten childen and 1st-grade students, 4th- and 5th-grade students, and 9th- and 10th-grade students. Unlike other studies, a second mood check immediately followed the sharing opportunity to test the effects of sharing on mood. Despite the effectiveness of the mood induction and strong age effects, support was not found for the hypothesis that the sharing condition affects sharing behavior differentially across age. In sum, results provide weak support for the notion that moods can affect helping, but no support for the notion that helping relieves negative mood states. The discussion presents a conceptual analysis of the three-stage model and focuses on suggestions for future mood-helping research. (Author/RH)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Researchers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A