Considering the Role of Positive Emotion in the Early Emergence of Prosocial Behavior: Commentary on Hammond and Drummond (2019)

In this commentary, I delineate several questions raised by the Hammond and Drummond (2019) paper: (a) to why there seems to be an association between state positive emotion and prosocial behavior in young children, and if and how early positively tinged prosocial behavior provides a pathway to (b) later prosocial behavior more generally (normatively) and (c) to individual differences in the development of prosocial behavior and motives. In doing so, several possible mechanisms or processes (e.g., maintenance of a positive mood, enjoyment of social interaction, the effect of positive social interaction on caring) are briefly discussed. Moreover, the potential importance of attachment status in understanding the relation of positive emotion to prosocial behavior is highlighted.