Psychological Development and Education ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (4): 457-466.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2026.04.01

   

From Social Mindfulness to Prosocial Behavior: The Developmental Association in Children Aged 4 to 7

WANG Kunyan1, HUANG Yinghang1, DENG Jue2, WANG Xuan3, ZHANG Xiangkui4   

  1. 1. School of Psychology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024;
    2. Department of Penalty Execution, Fujian Police College, Fuzhou 350000;
    3. Experimental Kunming Lake Middle School attached to Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650204;
    4. College of Education Science, Inner Mongolia Minzu University, Tongliao 028000
  • Published:2026-07-04

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Abstract: This study investigated the developmental characteristics of social mindfulness in 4- to 7-year-old children, its relationship with prosocial behavior, and the influence of decision-making contexts on its expression. Through two interconnected experiments, we compared children’s performance in a dyadic interaction context versus an individual choice baseline context to examine their social mindfulness and its relationship with prosocial behaviors such as helping and sharing. The results revealed that: (1) Children’s social mindfulness followed a non-linear developmental trajectory, with age 6 emerging as a key developmental period; 6- to 7-year-olds demonstrated significantly higher levels of social mindfulness than their 4- to 5-year-old counterparts; (2) Compared to the baseline context reflecting only individual preferences, children exhibited higher levels of social mindfulness in the dyadic interaction context, confirming the activating effect of social situations; (3) A one-year longitudinal study found a significant bidirectional predictive relationship between social mindfulness and prosocial behavior, with the predictive effect of social mindfulness on prosocial behavior being stronger than the reverse effect. These findings elucidate the age-related characteristics of social mindfulness development and its dynamic relationship with prosocial behavior, offering important insights into the mechanisms of early social-cognitive development.

Key words: children aged 4~7 years, social mindfulness, decision-making contexts, prosocial behavior

CLC Number: 

  • B844
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