Prosocial and Moral Development in the Family

Abstract

(from the chapter) People are not born moral or immoral. Normal children have the capacity to develop empathy and positive behaviors such as helping and sharing, as well negative behaviors such as stealing and aggression. But how do children become moral individuals? Evidence suggests that heredity plays some role in the development of moral behavior in children. It is likely that aspects of children's temperament that are heritable provide an avenue through which genetics affect children's moral behavior. In addition, children's temperaments affect how their parents interact with and attempt to socialize them. Thus, it is likely that children's genetic inheritances affect their moral development in multiple ways. Nonetheless, it appears that socialization within the family is an important contributor to children's moral development. Parents are likely to affect their children's moral development in numerous ways, and these ways may differ somewhat for different aspects of morality. Some of the research regarding the early socialization of conscience and guilt are briefly summarized. After an examination of the relationship of parenting to prosocial behavior, the relationship of parenting to the development of children's moral reasoning is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).