How, not whether: contributions of others in the development of infant helping

Abstract

Young children's helping behaviors emerge and develop through everyday interactions with others. This paper proposes to sidestep the dichotomy between socialization and biological processes in research on early helping: The question is not whether but how others contribute to the development of infant helping. To answer this question, it is necessary to broaden conceptions of how others may contribute to the development of helping beyond explicit teaching and rewards. Recent experimental and observational research indicates that family members scaffold helping from the first year of life and that specific forms of scaffolding influences the development of helping. The roles of others appear to vary with child age and across communities and are responsive to children's social initiatives.