Abstract
This lab‐based longitudinal study examines whether parental structuring (i.e., encouragement, modeling and praise) has effects on helping behavior across developmental time, across recipients or both. Based on behavioral data assessed at 12, 15, 18, 21 and 24 months (N = 38 dyads), the main findings are that, first, when analyzing the effects of parental structuring on toddlers’ helping across developmental time (helping the parent three months later), we found a positive effect of modeling at 12 months and of praise at 15 months. Second, when analyzing the effect of parental structuring on toddlers’ helping across recipients, there were positive cross‐sectional associations of both caregivers’ encouragement and praise during parent‐child interactions with helping the experimenter between 12 and 18 months. Third, when applying the strictest criterion, namely an effect of parental structuring that generalizes across both developmental time and recipients, we found that modeling at 18 months had an effect on toddlers’ helping toward an experimenter at 21 months. Overall, this study demonstrates how important it is to explicate the assumptions under consideration when drawing conclusions about the socialization of early prosocial behavior. Together with recent studies, an emerging picture further consolidates, namely that parental encouragement, modeling and praise contribute to prosocial development in important ways.