Discussions on role-taking related to prosocial behavior have lately been animated as a major academic topic in the domain of social-psychology and cognitive development. This is because prosocia1 behavior is a factor to decide the life quality of a h...
Discussions on role-taking related to prosocial behavior have lately been animated as a major academic topic in the domain of social-psychology and cognitive development. This is because prosocia1 behavior is a factor to decide the life quality of a human being. And efforts to facilitate it are always requested since school education is a kind of activity to come true the idea of "Devotion to the Welfare of Mankind." Thesedays, studies on preceding ingredients and parameters triggering prosocia1 behavior have staged diversely.
According to latest psychological studies. factors triggering prosocial behavior are devided into individual variables and situational ones. The former one (individual variable) explains that prosocial behavior is not automatically triggered by situation itself but by individual characteristics perceiving, comprehending and coping with the situation (Green & Schneider, et al. 1974). On the other hand, the latter viewpoint sees that repeated acquisition of rules through observing a model with prosocial behavior is intema1ized(Rosehan & White, 1961), prosocia1 behaviors decrease in front of many other people in spite of an urgent situation which needs to be helped(Latane) and prosocial behavior is done after estimating burden, losses and gains under a certain situationt(: Cost-benefit Theory).
These studies positively find that role-taking is the most important decisive factor to prosocial behavior. However, results of many studies don't prove it despite there are enough conceptual and theoretical grounds about the correlation between role-taking and prosocia1 behavior, and discussions on decisive factors or basic mechanism of prosocial behavior have been continued.
Teaching methods and strateges to promote prosocial behavior are various and insufficient as discussions are raging.
Therefore, this sudy is to propose adequate methods for prosocial behaviors by reilluminating the relation between prosocial behavior and role-taking ability through wrapping-up and analyzing preceding studies in the field and reviewing previous studies on training prosocial behavior. Under th aim, this study tries to identify as follows:
First, What developmental structures will be formed between prosocial behavior and role taking?
Second, what's the correlation between prosocial behavior and role-taking ability?
Third, which kind of role-taking is more related to prosocial behavior?
Fourth, does the promotion of role-taking ability increase prosocial behavior?
Fifth, which factor among other role-taking ingredients is the most effective for promoting prosocial behavior?
Sixth, what' s the most effective method in training role-taking ability to promote prosocial behavior?
According to the above-mentioned aim, the results from analyzing experiential studies in many references are as follows :
1. It' s likely that role-taking and prosocial behavior parallel develop propotionate to age. That is, they break from egocentrism and increase the role-taking ability as they grow older. thereby, their prosocial behavior increases;
2. Cognition and social developmental stages are paralleled processes. The two are structurely alike or same as it seems they have the same structure. There is a parallel sequence in the process of executing role-taking ability and prosocial behavior. And similar processes are being repeated between the two.
3. Role-taking ability and prosocial behavior have a cause-and-effect relationship and social role-taking ability is more closely correlated with prosocial behavior than perceptual role-taking ability. The possibility to help others increases as the ability to accept the viewpoint of others grows. In other words, role-taking ability is an essential prerequisite for prosocial behavior.
4. As a teaching method to promote prosocial behavior. training social role-taking which judges others' thoughts. emotions and motivation is more effective rather than training perceptual role-taking which infers others' visual viewpoints.
5. It seems that role-switching method which play roles of others with their perspective taking can maximize educational effect than training sole perspective taking which performs roles of only one individual.
6. Educational method to promote prosocial behavior could differ according to the age of child. Younger infants have more outstanding educational effect from training than children in kindergarten. As one grows in age. egocentrism is fading to give away to the development of prosocial behavior.