Social attitudes of boys and girls in relation to prosocial behavior
The article discusses the problem of prosocial behavior - behavior aimed at the benefit of other people and non-anticipated response assistance and benefits for themselves. The research problem is the identification of social determinants that determine this special type of human behavior. The theoretical ideas of Russian psychology about the determinism of a personality by its social relations and self-determination of a personality as a result of its active life position are the basis of the study. The authors presented an analysis of approaches to defining and understanding the nature of prosocial behavior. The general conclusion is made that in the scientific literature “prosocial behavior” is an integral term that includes many manifestations of personality in terms of its individual and social nature. It is separately noted that the psychological content of “prosocial behavior” is revealed through motivation and social attitudes that determine the manifestation and orientation of constructive activity that is useful for other people or society. The positive and negative aspects of prosocial behavior realized in the context of “honest deeds”, selfish motivation, and semantic altruistic attitudes are analyzed. The questions of the possible negative impact of prosocial motivation on professional activities are raised. The article contains the results of a study of differences in the social attitudes of the prosocial behavior of boys and girls. The study proved the assumption of greater emotionality of the prosocial behavior of girls and the pragmatism of the attitudes of prosocial behavior in boys. The results of the study allow the authors to conclude that for the modern young generation, prosocial behavior is a natural form of social activity and is carried out in accordance with internal normative values. Attitudes toward anonymity prevail in it. But “true”, not suggesting reciprocal gratitude, prosocial behavior requires development in the male group through increasing the empathy of interpersonal relationships.