ArticleFrontiers in psychology2025
The effectiveness of social-themed picture book reading in promoting children's prosocial behavior.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Visual guidance patterns and comprehension mechanisms in children's nonlinear picture book reading: an eye-tracking study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Shared reading is associated with fewer emotional/behavioral problems and better prosocial behavior in preschool children: a cross-sectional study in western China.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- The role of picture books in supporting children's emotions: perspectives of Saudi kindergarten teachers.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Maternal belief in a just world and moral commentary during picture book reading in infancy.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: There is a need for an effective and low-cost approach to promote prosocial behavior in preschool children. This study examines the effectiveness of parent-child shared reading of socially themed picture books on prosocial behavior in preschoolers, and explores the mediating role of empathy. Methods: Sixty children (aged 4-5 years) and their parents were randomly assigned to either the intervention group, which read socially themed picture books, or the control group, which read books on other topics. Shared reading sessions took place twice a week for eight weeks. Prosocial behavior tasks and the Empathy Questionnaire (EmQue) were administered pre- and post-intervention. Results: Children in the intervention group scored significantly higher on prosocial behavior and empathy than those in the control group. Mediation analysis further revealed that empathy fully mediated the relationship between shared reading of socially themed picture books and prosocial behavior. Discussion: These findings highlight the role of empathy as a key mechanism through which socially themed picture books promote prosocial behavior. This research provides valuable insights for family education, highlighting a low-cost approach that promotes children's social development through everyday storytelling without the need for specialized training.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.