Helping without being asked as a cultural practice

Abstract

This study found cultural differences in 6- to 10-year-olds’ helping without being asked, with attentiveness and initiative. In line with cultural values, 19 Mexican-heritage sibling pairs from families familiar with Indigenous practices (and limited Western schooling) helped an instructor without being asked more than did 19 European-heritage pairs from families with extensive schooling. The Mexican-heritage children’s mothers also reported that most of them helped at home without being asked, unlike the European-heritage children. Children with experience of both cultural systems – 19 sibling pairs of Mexican-heritage children with extensive family experience with Western schooling – helped at home without being asked, like the Mexican Indigenous-heritage children, but like the European-heritage families, they did not help much during instruction. They switched their approach in different contexts — helping at home where it is expected and valued, and not helping in an instructional situation where it may be unwelcome.