Prosocial behavior from early to middle childhood: genetic and environmental influences on stability and change.
Abstract
Prosocial behavior is important for the functioning of society. This study investigates the extent to which environment shared by family members, nonshared environment, and genetics account for children's prosocial behavior. The prosocial behavior of twins (9,424 pairs) was rated by their parents at the ages of 2, 3, 4, and 7 and by their teachers at age 7. For parent ratings, shared environmental effects decreased from .47 on average at age 2 to .03 at age 7, and genetic effects increased from .32 on average to .61. The finding of weak shared environmental effects and large heritability at age 7 was largely confirmed through the use of teacher ratings. Using longitudinal genetic analyses, the authors conclude that genetic effects account for both change and continuity in prosocial behavior and nonshared environment contributes mainly to change.
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Twin studies underscore the importance of the genetic contribution to prosocial behavior.
“Although twin studies underscore the importance of the genetic contribution to prosocial behavior [58], [59], untangling the contribution of specific polymorphisms to this and other complex traits is difficult.”
From The oxytocin receptor (OXTR) contributes to prosocial fund allocations in the dictator game and the social value orientations task (2009) · cites this paper as [59]
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- Authors
- Knafo, A., & Plomin, R.
- Venue
- Developmental Psychology
- Published
- 2006
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 771-786
- ISSN
- 0012-1649 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-0599
- OpenAlex
- W2162436287
- Cited by
- 295
- References
- 73
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 25
- FWCI
- 11.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Developmental Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Medical Research Council (G9424799)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Keywords
- prosocial behavior, heritability, shared environment, nonshared environment, genetic factors, environmental influences, continuity and change, early childhood, middle childhood, twins, parent ratings, teacher ratings
- MeSH terms
- Age Factors, Child, Child, Preschool, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Infant, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Personality Assessment, Phenotype, Sex Factors, Social Behavior, Social Environment, Socialization, Twins, Dizygotic, Twins, Monozygotic, Genetic Variation
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