The Impact of Words and Deeds concerning Altruism upon Children

Abstract

BRYAN, JAMES H., and WALBEK, NANCY H. The Impact of Words and Deeds concerning Altruism upon Children. CmnD DEVELOPMENT, 1970, 41, 747-757. 72 second-, third-, and fourth-grade girls were exposed to a video-taped adult model (M) who practiced either generosity or selfishness, and who either preached generosity or selfishness, or held a neutral conversation. For half of the Ss within each of these 6 groups, the M was the E (the high-powered M). The effect of M's practices upon S's donation behavior was marginally significant (p < .10), but donation behavior was unaffected by either the power or the exhortations of M. Attractiveness of the M was a function of the M's acts, while there was no interaction between M's words or deeds and either donation, response latencies, or attraction.