Participatory arts interventions promote interpersonal and intergroup prosocial intentions in middle childhood

Van de Vyver, J; Abrams, D; Spinner, L; Pelletier, J; Ali, S.Y; Kapantai, I

Abstract

We report the results of two experiments which test the potential of arts engagement for promoting prosocial intentions. Experiment 1 (N = 216) tested the impact of a participatory arts intervention (vs. a control condition) on children's empathy and interpersonal prosocial intentions. Experiment 2 (N = 174) tested the impact of a participatory arts intervention (vs. a control condition) on children's prosocial intentions toward outgroup members under competitive and non-competitive conditions. Experiment 1 showed that the participatory arts intervention significantly increased children's interpersonal prosocial intentions, but not their empathy. Experiment 2 showed that, under competitive conditions, the participatory arts intervention significantly increased prosocial intentions toward outgroup members, an effect that persisted for six months beyond the intervention. Under non-competitive conditions, the participatory arts intervention consolidated improvements in prosocial intentions toward outgroup members. Overall, the results confirm the hypothesis that participatory arts engagement can promote prosocial intentions during middle childhood.

Citation

Van de Vyver, J., Abrams, D., Spinner, L., Pelletier, J., Ali, S., & Kapantai, I. (2019). Participatory arts interventions promote interpersonal and intergroup prosocial intentions in middle childhood. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 65, Article 101069. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2019.101069

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 19, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Nov 1, 2019
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Sep 25, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 1, 2019
• Journal: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
• Print ISSN: 0193-3973
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-7900
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 65
• Article Number: 101069
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2019.101069
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1285244