College of Behavioral & Social Sciences

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The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..

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    Parental Responses to Children's Negative Emotions: Relations with Diverse Forms of Prosocial Behavior in Head Start Preschoolers
    (2015) Gross, Jacquelyn; Cassidy, Jude; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    An important predictor of prosocial behavior in childhood is parental response to child distress (PRD). Often, researchers have investigated the link between PRD and broad indices of prosociality. Recent research, however, suggests children’s prosocial behavior is multidimensional, with few studies finding correlations between specific behaviors. The goal of the present study was to investigate links between PRD and children's specific prosocial behaviors, in addition to examining these links among a rarely studied population. Predominantly African American preschoolers enrolled in Head Start (n=141) responded to an experimenter simulating needs; their helping, sharing, and comforting behaviors were recorded, and mothers reported on their PRD. Contrary to hypotheses, PRD did not predict any prosocial behaviors; also unexpectedly, the specific behaviors were correlated. These findings are inconsistent with previous studies, suggesting the multidimensional nature of prosociality, or the hypothesized role of PRD, may not apply to African American children from low-income families.
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    Determinants of Communal Strength: The Effects of the Other's Likeability and of Benefiting the Other
    (2006-12-04) Curtis, Ryan Dean; Mills, Judson; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This research investigated potential determinants of communal strength. Communal strength refers to the degree of motivation to respond to a communal partner's needs. It was hypothesized that increased liking for the other and giving a benefit to the other would each increase communal strength toward the other. Female participants completed pretest and posttest measures of communal strength toward another female student. Participants heard an audiotape that made the other sound likable or unlikable and in need of advice or not in need of advice. The participants gave advice to the other or observed someone else giving advice to the other. The results of an analysis of covariance of the posttest measure of communal strength, controlling for the pretest measure of communal strength, revealed support for both hypotheses. Communal strength toward the other increased when the other was likable, and when the person gave a benefit to the other.