The purpose of this study was to examine in which contexts prosocial behaviors took place among
two-year-old toddlers during free play when they could have a dynamic interaction with one another and
how their prosocial behaviors turned or evolved into another related behavior. A research question was
posed:
1. In which emergent contexts do two-year-old toddlers show prosocial behaviors during free play?
The participants in this study were eight two-year-old males in D daycare center located in B city. An
observation was conducted for two hours each in the morning and in the afternoon, three times a week,
during their normal classroom hours between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The major findings of the study were as follows:
First, the participants shared what they played with when they showed attention and affection to the
items.
Second, when several participants showed prosocial behaviors, the others imitated the behaviors as models
or showed another related prosocial behavior.
Third, when their teacher resolved conflict or provided general intervention for challenging situations, the
participants were stimulated to show prosocial behaviors or to help one another thanks to the influence of
her authority.
Fourth, the participants were often in conflict with one another due to their egocentric thinking. Based
on their egocentric thinking, the participants chose to show prosocial behaviors as a conflict resolution
method. When the participant had a conflict with his peers who usually had more social attachment than
the others, they were able to manage and mediate their conflicts without an argument against each other.