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Concept of protocol behavior of Singapore youths
Author
Koh, Jessie Lay Tin
Supervisor
Cheng, Yuan Shan
Abstract
This qualitative study examines the concept of prosocial behavior of Singapore youths and related behavioral decisions. The focus of the current study is to interview and evaluate youths’ thinking and value belief system using scenarios and real life situations they encounter to describe their prosocial behaviors.
Literature such as Social Psychology theory (Baron & Byrne, 2004), Psychoanalytic theory (Freud, 1958) and Self-deterministic theory (Grolnick, Deci & Ryan, 1997) and other research about values and moral system were used as guidelines to develop questions that address youths’ perceptions. The study aims to examine the relationship amongst the two research questions: (1) how much the youths understand the meaning of prosocial behavior in a given scenario or a life example; and (2) how youths internalized values and external factors influenced their decision to help others, that is, how prosocial behavior comes about?
Interviews were conducted with four youths participated in the study (M age of youth = 20 years, 75% female). The results suggest that many external factors such as family upbringing and nurturing, peers influence, cultural influence, and society might influence one’s value. However, the self perceive having the capability to empathize, the resources and confidence to apply youths’ knowledge to help must outweigh external influences. Conceptualization of self capability and decision making mediates the relationship between personal experience and prosocial behavior of how youths interpret and internalize values with external factors.
The implications of this study is gaining valuable information to give policy makers, researchers, practitioners, teachers, parents a better understanding of the ways Singapore youths engage in prosocial behavior, and to contribute to our Singapore moral education system of providing inform policy and practice to cultivate more prosocial behaviors in youths.
This is the first qualitative research on Singapore youths that addressed the basic understanding of their concept of prosocial behavior. Due to time limitations there are other relevant questions that could not be addressed. As such the findings could not be able to generalize to the population of all youths. And also this is a qualitative researcher it is restricted to researcher’s interpretation. Future research is encouraged to capture bigger participants and use inter-raters to process different aspect of the data.
Literature such as Social Psychology theory (Baron & Byrne, 2004), Psychoanalytic theory (Freud, 1958) and Self-deterministic theory (Grolnick, Deci & Ryan, 1997) and other research about values and moral system were used as guidelines to develop questions that address youths’ perceptions. The study aims to examine the relationship amongst the two research questions: (1) how much the youths understand the meaning of prosocial behavior in a given scenario or a life example; and (2) how youths internalized values and external factors influenced their decision to help others, that is, how prosocial behavior comes about?
Interviews were conducted with four youths participated in the study (M age of youth = 20 years, 75% female). The results suggest that many external factors such as family upbringing and nurturing, peers influence, cultural influence, and society might influence one’s value. However, the self perceive having the capability to empathize, the resources and confidence to apply youths’ knowledge to help must outweigh external influences. Conceptualization of self capability and decision making mediates the relationship between personal experience and prosocial behavior of how youths interpret and internalize values with external factors.
The implications of this study is gaining valuable information to give policy makers, researchers, practitioners, teachers, parents a better understanding of the ways Singapore youths engage in prosocial behavior, and to contribute to our Singapore moral education system of providing inform policy and practice to cultivate more prosocial behaviors in youths.
This is the first qualitative research on Singapore youths that addressed the basic understanding of their concept of prosocial behavior. Due to time limitations there are other relevant questions that could not be addressed. As such the findings could not be able to generalize to the population of all youths. And also this is a qualitative researcher it is restricted to researcher’s interpretation. Future research is encouraged to capture bigger participants and use inter-raters to process different aspect of the data.
Date Issued
2010
Call Number
BF637.H4 Koh
Date Submitted
2010