Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Program Name/Specialization

Developmental Psychology

Faculty/School

Faculty of Science

First Advisor

Dr. Marc Jambon

Advisor Role

Supervisor

Second Advisor

Dr. Meaghan Barlow

Advisor Role

Committee member

Third Advisor

Dr. Danielle Law

Advisor Role

Committee member

Abstract

Prior developmental research has frequently linked prosocial behavior to stronger academic functioning during childhood and adolescence (Cruz et al., 2024; Gerbino et al., 2018; Oberle et al., 2022), yet its relevance to academic success in emerging adulthood remains unclear. Guided by a Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework, the present study sought to address gaps in emerging adulthood research by examining the academic relevance of prosocial behavior while accounting for influential developmental assets and testing its independent contribution to academic achievement. Undergraduate students (N = 501) completed a cross-sectional self-report survey assessing prosocial behavior, self-control, dutifulness, sociability, and cumulative grade point average. A simple linear regression was conducted to examine whether prosocial behavior was associated with academic success. Results indicated that prosocial behavior was not significantly associated with GPA. Given that nonsignificant findings do not determine whether an observed effect is meaningfully absent or simply too small to detect, an exploratory three-sided testing (TST) was conducted to test for equivalence. Findings indicated that the observed association was smaller than the smallest effect considered practically important in educational and developmental relevant literature (r = .13), concluding that prosocial behavior demonstrated no academic relevance within the present sample. These findings contrast with developmental literature showing stronger associations in earlier educational periods and raise the possibility that the academic relevance of prosocial behavior may differ across developmental contexts or may be less direct than previously assumed.

Convocation Year

2026

Convocation Season

Fall

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