Brazilian Adolescents' Prosocial Moral Judgment and Behavior: Relations to Sympathy, Perspective Taking, Gender‐Role Orientation, and Demographic Characteristics

Abstract

The goal of this study was to examine demographic and individual difference variables that predict level of prosocial moral judgment and self-reported prosocial behavior and to test mediating or moderating relations among predictors. The relations of prosocial moral reasoning and self-reported prosocial behavior to perspective taking, sympathy, age, sociometric status, and gender-role orientation were examined with a sample of 149 Brazilian adolescents who completed a series of questionnaire measures. Prosocial moral judgment was expected to be predicted by both sympathy and perspective taking, whereas sympathy or prosocial moral judgment was expected to mediate the relations of femininity and perspective taking to prosocial behavior. Self-reported perspective taking and sympathy interacted when predicting prosocial moral judgment; adolescents who were high in either sympathy or perspective taking (or both) scored high in prosocial moral reasoning. A feminine orientation predicted sympathy and perspective taking, perspective taking predicted prosocial moral reasoning and sympathy, and sympathy had both direct and indirect paths (through moral judgment) to prosocial behavior. The findings generally were consistent with the contention that both the tendency to take others' perspectives and to sympathize are related to level of prosocial moral reasoning, which in turn motivates prosocial behavior. Moreover, patterns of correlations among variables were similar to those found in the United States.

Empatía en la adolescencia. Relaciones con razonamiento moral prosocial, conducta prosocial y agresividad

“…Además, el razonamiento moral prosocial suele estar acorde con los valores morales y con la jerarquía, que dirige la conducta de ayudar, de ahí que se espere que contribuya a consolidar las características personales prosociales (Eisenberg, Hofer, Sulik y Liew, 2014). De este modo, el razonamiento moral prosocial se relaciona con conductas prosociales o acciones destinadas a beneficiar al otro (Carlo et al, 2010;Eisenberg, Zhou y Koller, 2001) y se vincula a ciertas emociones morales, como la empatía emocional (Eisenberg, Fabes y Spinrad, 2006;Malti y Keller, 2009). Por el contrario, el razonamiento moral prosocial se relaciona negativamente con razonamiento hedonista en adolescentes (Eisenberg, Carlo, Murphy y Van Court, 1995) y con la conducta agresiva (Carlo et al, 2013).…”

Prosocial Behavior as a Protective Factor for Children’s Peer Victimization

“…Perspective taking allows one to develop a sense of sympathy for others and its development is often correlated with one's emotional regulation and prosocial behavior (e.g., Carlo et al, 2003;Eisenberg, Zhou, & Koller, 2001). Hoglund (2005) also found that individual differences are apparent in the level of social-cognitive capabilities (perspective taking and interpersonal skills) amongst victimized children.…”

Are Women More Empathetic than Men? A Longitudinal Study in Adolescence

“…These results are confirmed if processes are not simply analysed on the basis of gender but if the orientation of the gender role is also evaluated. Thus, a female orientation is predictive of greater empathy both as concern for the other and as perspective taking (Carlo, Koller, Eisenberg, Silva, & Frohlich, 1996;Eisenberg, Zhou, & Koller, 2001) and predictive of less criminal behaviours in adolescents with this type of orientation (Keung Ma, 2005).…”