The Formation of Prosociality: Causal Evidence on the Role of Social Environment

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kosse, Fabian; Deckers, Thomas; Pinger, Pia; Schildberg-Hoerisch, Hannah; Falk, Armin
• 署名单位: University of Munich; University of Bonn; University of Bonn
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-3808
• DOI: 10.1086/704386
• 发表日期: 2020
• 页码: 434-467
• 关键词: intergenerational transmission; cultural transmission; trust; childhood; ECONOMICS; preferences; altruism; BEHAVIOR; HEALTH; RISK

摘要

This study presents evidence on the role of social environment for the formation of prosociality. We show that socioeconomic status (SES) as well as intensity of mother-child interaction and mothers' prosocial attitudes are related to elementary school children's prosociality. We also present evidence on a randomly assigned variation of the social environment, providing children with a mentor for 1 year. Our data reveal a significant and persistent increase in prosociality in the treatment relative to the control group. Moreover, enriching the social environment closes the prosociality gap between low- and high-SES children. A mediation analysis suggests that prosociality develops in response to prosocial role models and intense social interactions.