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Others' Requests May Dampen the Desire to Do Good: The Effect of Requests on Children's Prosocial Motivation across Five Cultures

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Title: Others' Requests May Dampen the Desire to Do Good: The Effect of Requests on Children's Prosocial Motivation across Five Cultures
Language: English
Authors: Anneliese Skrobanek (ORCID 0000-0002-1196-0838), Patricia Kanngiesser, Jahnavi Sunderarajan, Jorge David Mantilla Salgado, Saiwa Sisa Quimbo Yacelga, Shoji Itakura, Marie M. Morita, Masanori Yamaguchi, Nadia Chernyak, Lucy M. Stowe, Joscha Kärtner
Source: Developmental Psychology. 2026 62(5):960-972.
Availability: American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 13
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Children, Prosocial Behavior, Motivation, Cultural Differences, Child Development, Age Differences, Personal Autonomy, Behavior Standards, Self Determination, Responsibility, Helping Relationship, Sharing Behavior, Foreign Countries
Geographic Terms: Germany, United States, Japan, India, Ecuador
DOI: 10.1037/dev0002145
ISSN: 0012-1649
1939-0599
Abstract: There exists cultural variation in how people react to prosocial obligations, but we still know little about when these differences emerge in development and how they can be explained. We investigated this in a study with 6- to 11-year-old children (N = 686) in five cultural contexts. Children listened to scenarios about spontaneous and requested (within-subjects) helping and sharing. They rated requested scenarios as less desirable and less satisfying, but there was significant cross-cultural variation in the magnitude of this effect, which was mostly stable with age. We also measured children's sense of individual agency and internalization of prosocial norms as potential explanations. While internalization moderated the effect of requests in helping scenarios at the individual level, neither agency nor norm internalization explained cross-cultural variation in children's judgments of requests. Overall, our findings underline the importance of self-determination for motivation and offer insights into cross-cultural similarities and differences in prosocial motivation.
Abstractor: As Provided
Notes: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/M4PAB
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1503373
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: Others' Requests May Dampen the Desire to Do Good: The Effect of Requests on Children's Prosocial Motivation across Five Cultures
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  Data: English
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Anneliese+Skrobanek%22">Anneliese Skrobanek</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1196-0838">0000-0002-1196-0838</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Patricia+Kanngiesser%22">Patricia Kanngiesser</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jahnavi+Sunderarajan%22">Jahnavi Sunderarajan</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jorge+David+Mantilla+Salgado%22">Jorge David Mantilla Salgado</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Saiwa+Sisa+Quimbo+Yacelga%22">Saiwa Sisa Quimbo Yacelga</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Shoji+Itakura%22">Shoji Itakura</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Marie+M%2E+Morita%22">Marie M. Morita</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Masanori+Yamaguchi%22">Masanori Yamaguchi</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nadia+Chernyak%22">Nadia Chernyak</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lucy+M%2E+Stowe%22">Lucy M. Stowe</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Joscha+Kärtner%22">Joscha Kärtner</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Developmental+Psychology%22"><i>Developmental Psychology</i></searchLink>. 2026 62(5):960-972.
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  Data: American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
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  Data: Y
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  Data: 13
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  Label: Publication Date
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Children%22">Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Prosocial+Behavior%22">Prosocial Behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Motivation%22">Motivation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cultural+Differences%22">Cultural Differences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+Development%22">Child Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Age+Differences%22">Age Differences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Personal+Autonomy%22">Personal Autonomy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Behavior+Standards%22">Behavior Standards</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self+Determination%22">Self Determination</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Responsibility%22">Responsibility</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Helping+Relationship%22">Helping Relationship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sharing+Behavior%22">Sharing Behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Germany%22">Germany</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+States%22">United States</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Japan%22">Japan</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22India%22">India</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ecuador%22">Ecuador</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
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  Data: 10.1037/dev0002145
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  Data: 0012-1649<br />1939-0599
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: There exists cultural variation in how people react to prosocial obligations, but we still know little about when these differences emerge in development and how they can be explained. We investigated this in a study with 6- to 11-year-old children (N = 686) in five cultural contexts. Children listened to scenarios about spontaneous and requested (within-subjects) helping and sharing. They rated requested scenarios as less desirable and less satisfying, but there was significant cross-cultural variation in the magnitude of this effect, which was mostly stable with age. We also measured children's sense of individual agency and internalization of prosocial norms as potential explanations. While internalization moderated the effect of requests in helping scenarios at the individual level, neither agency nor norm internalization explained cross-cultural variation in children's judgments of requests. Overall, our findings underline the importance of self-determination for motivation and offer insights into cross-cultural similarities and differences in prosocial motivation.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
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  Data: As Provided
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  Data: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/M4PAB
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: EJ1503373
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