Temperament and Prosocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of Prosocial Reasoning, Emotion Regulation, and Emotion Lability

Abstract

Objective: Our study aims to examine the mediating role of prosocial moral reasoning, emotion regulation, and emotion lability in the relation between temperamental characteristics and prosocial behaviour. Methods:In a cross-sectional study, a sample of 202 students were recruited through random multistage sampling method. The participants were interviewed about their prosocial moral reasoning. Their mothers also completed questionnaires on temperament, emotion regulation, and prosocial tendencies. Results:Path analysis indicates that model is fit to data (χ 2 (9)=13.97, CFI=0.92, RMSEA=0.06, SRMR=0.05). Emotion regulation partially mediates the relation between effortful control and altruistic behaviour. In addition, emotion lability mediates the relation between negative affectivity and altruistic behaviour. Conclusion:Our findings show that emotion regulation and emotion lability have stronger determinant role in mediating the relation between temperamental characteristics and prosocial behaviours than prosocial moral reasoning. Our results have implications on the heterogeneity of prosocial behaviours. Highlights• The relation between effortful control and altruistic behavior is mediated through emotion regulation skills.• The relation between negative affectivity and altruistic behavior is mediated through emotion lability.• Gender does not moderate the mediating role of emotion regulation and emotion lability in relation between temperament and prosocial behavior.