The Development of Altruism: Toward an Integrative Model

Abstract

In this paper we introduce and evaluate an integrative model of the development of altruism based on six propositions: (a) social cognition develops in a stage-like, additive-inclusive sequence; (b) forms of thought and behavior are the products of dynamic person-situation interactions; (c) the stages identified by different cognitive-developmental theorists are based on isomorphic structures; (d) structurally isomorphic stages predispose people to corresponding forms of altruism; (e) later developing forms of altruism are more altruistic than earlier developing forms; and (f) the relations between stage-structures and altruism are mediated by cognitive and affective processes that have been linked empirically to prosocial behavior. We derive a hierarchy of altruistic behaviors from the aligned stages of social, ego, and moral development postulated by 10 theorists, compare it to the typologies of altruism derived by other theorists, and adduce evidence supporting the expected relations between the forms of altruism in our hierarchy and (a) age, (b) stage of development, (c) self-attributions of altruism, (d) situational factors, and (e) various cognitive and affective processes.