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Abstract

The present study examined the effects of reasoning and choice on children's prosocial behaviour. Forty-eight secondand third-grade children were randomly assigned to a 3 X 2 design (Adult-oriented Reasoning, Beneficiaryoriented Reasoning, or No Reasoning x Choice or No Choice) where they were asked or instructed to donate one of two prizes to sick children who could not be in the study. All children donated one prize. Subjects were then given the opportunity to help "other children who were having trouble with school" and to play with toys. It was predicted that beneficiary-oriented reasoning in the first situation would lead to the most prosocial behaviour in the second, and that the least amount of prosocial behaviour would occur when children had been given no reasoning and no choice. As predicted, children were more helpful in the choice than in the no-choice condition. However, prosocial behaviour was most likely when no reasoning had been used. Results are interpreted in light of the types of reasoning used, the experience of reactance, and Lepper's (1981, 1983) minimal sufficiency principle.

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The Effects of Reasoning and Choice on Children's Prosocial Behaviour

Abstract

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