Promoting toddlers’ prosocial behavior: a training study at nursery.

In the last decades, researchers have been interested in studying early prosocial behaviors and the factors that may impact on their development. Following the line of inquiry that examines the role of conversation about inner states in the early development of socio-emotional competence, the aim of the study is to verify the efficacy of a conversational intervention (TEPP, Toddlers Empathy Prosociality Program) in fostering prosocial conduct in young children. A total of 142 toddlers (Mage = 29.78 months, range = 22–36) took part to a pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design. They were administered the Prosocial Tasks Battery (BPS-I) and parents completed the EmQue-I13 and the CPBQ, concerning toddlers’ empathy and prosociality. During the 2-month program specially trained teachers read prosocial stories to small groups of children and then involved them in conversations about inner states and prosocial behavior (Condition 1), in conversations about concrete actions and physical states (Condition 2), or in free play activities (Condition 3). Children in Condition 1 were found to outperform their peers in Conditions 2 and 3 on empathy (F(2,61)=2.957, p=.05) and prosocial abilities, both in BPS-I (F(2,61)=8.664, p<.05) and in CPBQ (F(2,61)=5.098, p=.009). The results confirmed that intervention based on conversation about inner states and prosocial actions can enhance the development of prosocial skills in toddlers, encouraging the implementation of early education programs targeting prosociality among peers.