Pro-social behavior support in preschool education: approaches, practices, and a model

Context. The preschool period is a critical stage for the development of prosocial behavior. Children begin to understand the feelings of others, and the foundations of empathy and mutual assistance are formed. Situation-specific expressions of care can develop into more stable forms when children are embedded in a system of social relationships. However, the specific characteristics of interactions that support the development of prosocial behavior and its intrinsic motivation remain insufficiently understood. The objective of this review is to identify the conditions and practices of interaction with adults and peers that support the development of prosocial behavior in preschoolers and facilitate its internalization. Methods and Materials. This study presents a theoretical review of contemporary international and Russian research, integrating findings on social learning, the development of empathy and moral emotions, perspective taking, and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs. Results. Prosocial behavior develops within the child’s relationships with adults and peers. Effective practices combine support for autonomy with a clear structure of interactions, modeling care, providing genuine choices in joint activities, informative feedback, and creating an environment rich in opportunities for helping behavior. Based on this analysis, a model of prosocial development is proposed as a process occurring within a three-component system: an adult defines the form and meaning of the action, peers provide a space for practice and mutual regulation, and the environment offers opportunities for self-initiated acts of care. Conclusions. Prosocial behavior emerges from the coordinated interaction of emotional, cognitive-moral, and motivational mechanisms within a supportive environment that satisfies the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The proposed model provides guidelines for the design of educational practices and frameworks for observing and assessing the conditions that support prosocial behavior.

1. Кисляков, П.А., Шмелева, Е.А. (2021). Психология безопасного просоциального поведения личности. М.: Когито-Центр.
   Kislyakov, P.A., Shmeleva, E.A. (2021). Psychology of safe prosocial behavior of the individual. Moscow: Kogito-Centr (In Russ.).
2. Кухтова, Н.В. (2021). Психология просоциального поведения в современных исследованиях. Витебск: Витебский государственный университет.
   Kukhtova, N.V. (2021). Psychology of prosocial behavior in modern research. Vitebsk: Vitebsk State University. (In Russ.).
3. Цвицинская, А.М., Булыгина, М.В. (2023). Проявления просоциальности по отношению друг к другу у сиблингов дошкольного и раннего возраста. Социальные науки и детство, 4(2), 39—52. https://doi.org/10.17759/ssc.2023040203
   Tsvitsinskaya, A.M., Bulygina, M.V. (2023). Manifestations of prosociality in relationship to each other in siblings of preschool and early age. Social Sciences and Childhood, 4(2), 39—52. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/ssc.2023040203
4. Blewitt, C., Morris, H., O’Connor, A., Ifanti, A.A., Greenwood, D., Skouteris, H. (2021). Social and emotional learning in early childhood education and care: A public health perspective. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 45(1), 17—19. https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.13058
5. Brazzelli, E., Pepe, A., Grazzani, I. (2022). Prosocial behavior in toddlerhood: The contribution of emotion knowledge, theory of mind, and language ability. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 897812. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.897812
6. Carpendale, J.I.M., Wallbridge, B. (2023). From action to ethics: A process-relational approach to prosocial development. Frontiers in psychology, 14, Article 1059646. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1059646
7. Chai, Q., Wu, X., Yu, J., Vaish, A., Shen, M., He, J. (2025). How prosocial modeling promotes children’s sharing: A goal contagion account. Developmental Science, 28(3), Article e70020. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.70020
8. Chen, H., Lyu, D., Zhu, L. (2025). The effectiveness of social-themed picture book reading in promoting children’s prosocial behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, Article 1569925. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1569925
9. Deci, E.L., Ryan, R.M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227—268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
10. Denham, S.A., Bassett, H.H., Zinsser, K., Wyatt, T.M. (2014). How preschoolers’ social—emotional learning predicts their early school success: Developing theory-promoting, competency-based assessments. Infant and Child Development, 23(4), 426—454. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.1840
11. DiLalla, L.F., Bersted, K., John, S.G. (2015). Evidence of reactive gene—environment correlation in preschoolers’ prosocial play with unfamiliar peers. Developmental Psychology, 51(10), 1464—1475. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000047
12. Donald, J.N., Bradshaw, E.L., Ryan, R.M., Basarkod, G., Ciarrochi, J., Duineveld, J.J., Guo, J., Sahdra, B.K. (2020). Mindfulness and its association with varied types of motivation: A systematic review and meta-analysis using self-determination theory. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 46(7), 1121—1138. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167219896136
13. Dunfield, K.A. (2014). A construct divided: Prosocial behavior as helping, sharing, and comforting subtypes. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, Article 958. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00958
14. Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T.L., Knafo-Noam, A. (2015). Prosocial development. In: M.E. Lamb, R.M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science, 3 (pp. 610—656). New York: Wiley.
15. Flook, L., Goldberg, S.B., Pinger, L., Davidson, R.J. (2015). Promoting prosocial behavior and self-regulatory skills in preschool children through a mindfulness-based kindness curriculum. Developmental Psychology, 51(1), 44—51. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038256
16. Flook, L., Zahn-Waxler, C., Davidson, R.J. (2019). Developmental differences in prosocial behavior between preschool and late elementary school. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 876. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00876
17. Friedrich, J.P., Schmidt, M. (2022). Preschoolers agree to and enforce prosocial, but not selfish, sharing norms. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 214, Article 105303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105303
18. Grazzani, I., Valle, M. (2025). Training preschoolers with language games: Enhancing theory of mind, emotion understanding, prosocial orientation, and language ability. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 22(5), 651—673. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2025.2523752
19. Grueneisen, S., Warneken, F. (2022). The development of prosocial behavior — from sympathy to strategy. Current Opinion in Psychology, 43, 323—328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.08.005
20. Hammond, S.I., Grant, E.M., Furlong, A.I. (2026). Prosocial development across the lifespan (Revised ed.). In: Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development (pp. 1—11). Abilio — Childhood Knowledge Dissemination Centre.
21. Jang, H., Reeve, J., Deci, E.L. (2010). Engaging students in learning activities: It’s not autonomy support or structure but autonomy support and structure. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(3), 588—600. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019682
22. Katerkamp, A., Horn, L. (2025). Preschoolers’ prosocial behavior in groups-testing effects of dominance, popularity, and friendship. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, Article 1478493. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1478493
23. Klimstra, T.A., Archer, A., Reitz, A.K., Chung, J.M., Engelen, B. (2023). There goes my hero: The role of exemplars in identity formation. Human Development, 67(3), 154—169. https://doi.org/10.1159/000531435
24. Lee, S.-E., Kim, Y., Song, J.-H. (2023). Examining developmental trajectories and predictors of childhood prosocial behavior: Effects of peer play interactions and self-control. Korean Journal of Child Studies, 44(3), 265—278. https://doi.org/10.5723/kjcs.2023.44.3.265
25. Lenz, S., Paulus, M. (2021). Friendship is more than strategic reciprocity: Preschoolers’ selective sharing with friends cannot be reduced to strategic concerns. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 206, Article 105101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105101
26. Malti, T. (2026). Becoming humane: The development of kindness in an age of division. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 50(3), 415—423. https://doi.org/10.1177/01650254251344602
27. Martela, F., Sheldon, K.M. (2019). Clarifying the concept of well-being: Psychological need satisfaction as the common core connecting eudaimonic and subjective well-being. Review of General Psychology, 23(4), 458—474. https://doi.org/10.1177/1089268019880886
28. Mondi, C.F., Giovanelli, A., Reynolds, A.J. (2021). Fostering socio-emotional learning through early childhood intervention. International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy, 15, Article 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40723-021-00084-8
29. Pardon, K., Kuusisto, A., Uusitalo, L. (2023). Teaching kindness and compassion: An exploratory intervention study to support young children’s prosocial skills in an inclusive ECEC setting. Education Sciences, 13(11), Article 1148. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13111148
30. Paz, Y., Davidov, M., Orlitsky, T., Hayut, M., Roth-Hanania, R., Zahn-Waxler, C. (2023). Prosocial behavior in toddlerhood and early childhood: Consistency across subtypes and over time. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 950160. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.950160
31. Petkova, A.V., Brownell, C.A. (2022). I feel, you feel, we feel: The role of emotion in early prosocial behavior. In: D. Dukes, A.C. Samson, E.A. Walle (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of emotional development (pp. 542—553). Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198855903.013.43
32. Rapp, D.J., Engelmann, J.M., Herrmann, E., Tomasello, M. (2017). The impact of choice on young children’s prosocial motivation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 158, 112—121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2017.01.004
33. Salerni, N., Caprin, C. (2022). Prosocial behavior in preschoolers: Effects of early socialization experiences with peers. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 840080. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.840080
34. Shi, D., Xu, Y., Chu, L. (2024). The association between parents phubbing and prosocial behavior among Chinese preschool children: A moderated mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Article 1338055. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1338055
35. Song, Y., Broekhuizen, M., Dubas, J.S. (2022). A three-wave study on the development of prosocial behaviours across toddlerhood: The role of socialization. Infant and Child Development, 31(2), Article e2289. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.2289
36. Spinrad, T.L., Eisenberg, N., Morris, A.S. (2022). Empathy-related responding in children. In: M. Killen, J.G. Smetana (Eds.), Handbook of Moral Development (pp. 255—271). New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003047247
37. Vliek, L., Overbeek, G., Orobio de Castro, B. (2019). Effects of Topper Training on psychosocial problems, self-esteem, and peer victimisation in Dutch children: A randomised trial. PLOS ONE, 14(11), Article e0225504. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225504
38. Warneken, F., Tomasello, M. (2008). Extrinsic rewards undermine altruistic tendencies in 20-month-olds. Developmental Psychology, 44(6), 1785—1788. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013860
39. Weinstein, N., Ryan, R.M. (2010). When helping helps: Autonomous motivation for prosocial behavior and its influence on well-being for the helper and recipient. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(2), 222—244. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016984
40. Xiao, S.X., Hanish, L.D., Malouf, L.M., Martin, C.L., Lecheile, B., Goble, P., Fabes, R.A., DeLay, D., Bryce, C. (2022). Preschoolers’ interactions with other-gender peers promote prosocial behavior and reduce aggression: An examination of the Buddy Up intervention. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 60, 403—413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2022.04.004
41. Yavuz, H.M., Colasante, T., Galarneau, E., Malti, T. (2024). Empathy, sympathy, and emotion regulation: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 150(1), 27—44. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000426
42. Zhang, W., Yu, G., Fu, W., Li, R. (2022). Parental psychological control and children’s prosocial behavior: The mediating role of social anxiety and the moderating role of socioeconomic status. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(18), Article 11691. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811691