Preamble

Reputation Management in Children's Prosocial Behavior and Its Psychological Mechanisms
(School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, 210097)
(School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, 350117)
(Department and Institute of Psychology, 315211)
Reputation management is a strategic behavior aimed at controlling others' evaluations of oneself to achieve a desired personal reputation.

In the evolution of children's prosocial motivation, a concern for one's own reputation gradually emerges, manifesting as a tendency to manage that reputation through prosocial actions. Based on this premise, this paper examines prosocial behavior within reputational contexts to summarize the manifestations and developmental trends of reputation management. Furthermore, it analyzes the psychological mechanisms of reputation management from three perspectives: individual cognition, social motivation, and neurophysiology, proposing a comprehensive model of reputation management based on these cognitive, motivational, and neural dimensions. Future research should further expand on the emergence, development, and influencing factors of children's reputation management in prosocial behavior, pay closer attention to its underlying neurobiological mechanisms, and strengthen applied practical research in this field.

关键词

Prosocial behavior

1 引言

Individual reputation refers to the public evaluation of an individual formed by a group based on information such as the individual's personality, abilities, or behaviors \cite{Engelmann2018, Hill2006, Milinski2016}. Unlike personal perception or impression—which is one individual's evaluation of another—reputation is created, maintained, or altered through public discourse among two or more individuals in interdependent relationships \cite{Engelmann2018}. Reputation holds significant value; a good reputation can bring more extensive and long-term potential benefits, whereas a poor reputation may lead to condemnation or even social exclusion \cite{Engelmann2018, Milinski2016}. In the prosocial domain, an individual's reputation refers to others' comprehensive evaluation of their prosocial motivations and behaviors.

In real life, reputation does not exist in a vacuum. Out of concern for social evaluation, individuals consider mainstream social values and guide their actions accordingly to establish or maintain a positive image. This strategic behavior, driven by a concern for one's own reputation, is known as reputation management \cite{Heyman2021}. Reputation management is pervasive and is particularly common in prosocial behavior. When individuals perceive that their words or actions are being monitored or disseminated by others, they tend to exhibit more prosocial behaviors—such as being more generous, cooperative, helpful, or socially responsible—to secure a favorable reputation \cite{Kelsey2018, Milinski2016, SimanTov2022}.

Recent studies have confirmed that reputation management is also present in children's prosocial behavior. Prosocial behavior refers to positive social actions directed toward other individuals or groups, manifesting in various forms including donation, cooperation, helping, and sympathy \cite{Wispe1972}. Research on the motivations behind children's prosocial behavior has found that, initially, these motivations are largely non-self-oriented intrinsic motivations, such as empathy and the adherence to social moral norms \cite{Eisenberg2016, 2019}. For instance, after completing a task cooperatively, 3-year-old children typically share their rewards equally with their partners even if the partners do not request it \cite{Warneken2011}, and external rewards have been shown to undermine such prosocial behavior \cite{Ulber2016}. Generally speaking, children's initial prosocial actions are not driven by self-interest. However, as cognitive abilities develop, children's prosocial behavior becomes more selective and strategic \cite{Shinohara2019}. They begin to exhibit positive behaviors driven by self-oriented strategic motivations, such as the desire to obtain or maintain their own reputation \cite{Hepach2023, Leimgruber2012}. Consequently, they employ various reputation management strategies across different contexts to appear more prosocial. For example, they may show increased generosity in the presence of observers to achieve reputation management goals \cite{Engelmann2012, 2013, Qin2021, Zhao2019}. The evolution of these motivations suggests that the strategic prosocial behavior people exhibit for reputation management is not innate. This raises several questions: How does reputation management manifest and develop within prosocial behavior as social cognition matures? What are the psychological mechanisms underlying this strategic behavior? As core components of prosociality, sharing, helping, and cooperation are typical behaviors that develop rapidly in early childhood \cite{2006}; they play a vital role in children's social development and have long been a focus across various research fields.

Most researchers have explored reputation management through the lenses of sharing, helping, and cooperative behaviors \cite{Engelmann2018, Silver2018, Koster2019}. Previous reviews have often treated prosocial behavior as a monolithic construct when discussing and summarizing the manifestations of reputation management in children \cite{Engelmann2018, Heyman2021}. Although the developmental trends of reputation management are generally consistent across empirical studies of sharing, helping, and cooperation, the specific role that reputation plays and the performance of children vary across different behavioral contexts. Exploring how children manage their reputations in sharing, helping, and cooperative situations allows for an understanding of both the commonalities and specificities of reputation management across different types of prosocial behavior, while providing a deeper insight into its essence. Therefore, from the perspective of reputation management, this study summarizes children's various prosocial behaviors and developmental trends driven by reputational motives across different contexts. Furthermore, it analyzes the psychological and neurobiological mechanisms underlying these strategic behaviors. By synthesizing existing research, this review aims to provide a more profound understanding of the emergence, development, and psychological mechanisms of complex prosocial behavior in children.

2 儿童亲社会行为中的声誉管理

Reputation plays a critical role in the process by which children implement strategic prosocial behaviors. Given the inherent social reward properties of a positive reputation and its potential long-term benefits, children often engage in sharing or helping behaviors specifically to cultivate and maintain a favorable public image.

Furthermore, within cooperative contexts, children utilize reputation as a strategic tool. By engaging in prosocial actions, they deliberately build a positive reputation to signal their reliability to resource owners, thereby increasing the likelihood of successful cooperation and mutual reciprocity.

2.1.1 分享行为

Sharing behavior emerges as early as infancy. Research indicates that 12-month-old infants can engage in sharing after systematic training \cite{Xu et al., 2016}, while spontaneous sharing of objects begins at approximately 18 months \cite{Hay, 1979}. By 24 months, children have developed relatively stable sharing behaviors \cite{Dunfield et al., 2011}. Due to the early onset and prototypical nature of sharing, most research on reputation management in children is based on sharing behaviors. These studies typically utilize the classic Dictator Game paradigm to examine reputation management by manipulating reputational conditions. For instance, researchers may manipulate the existing reputation of the child or their peers—using labels such as "good child" or "generous child"—prior to the sharing task \cite{Qin et al., 2021; Zhang et al., 2023, 2025}. Other manipulations include whether the child's behavior is public \cite{Cage et al., 2016; Rapp et al., 2019; Zhang et al., 2023}, the presence of direct or indirect observers during the task \cite{Cage et al., 2016; Engelmann et al., 2012; Kelsey, Grossmann, & Vaish, 2018; Leimgruber et al., 2012; Okumura et al., 2023; Zhang et al., 2023, 2025}, and the identity, needs, or status of the observer or recipient. For example, studies have examined scenarios where the observer or recipient is a peer, or where the recipient has an antisocial or prosocial reputation \cite{Blakey, 2025; Engelmann et al., 2013, 2018; Fast et al., 2022; Olivier et al., 2022; Shinohara et al., 2021}. In these studies, the pursuit of a positive reputation serves as a primary motivator for increased sharing. The diversification of reputational conditions allows researchers to simulate complex real-world environments while comprehensively demonstrating the development of reputation management in children's sharing behavior.

Research has found that children exhibit a tendency toward reputation management during sharing behaviors \cite{Blakey, 2025; Kelsey, Grossmann, & Vaish, 2018; Zhang et al., 2023}. In the study by Zhang et al. (2023), when 4-year-old children were told they were "generous, good children" and that their performance in a sharing task would be communicated to others, they expressed a stronger willingness to share. However, it was not until age 5 that children actually shared a greater number of stickers.

Once the cognitive load and additional demands involved in the sharing task within a reputational context are reduced, 3-year-old children begin to exhibit reputation management behaviors \cite{Kelsey, Grossmann, & Vaish, 2018}. In the study by Zhang et al. (2025), even when the observer was merely a robot with social attributes, its presence prompted children to adjust their behavior.

3 岁儿童

exhibiting greater generosity

The majority of research supports the finding that children begin to exhibit reputation-based strategic sharing behaviors starting at least from age five (Engelmann & Rapp, 2018; Silver & Shaw, 2018). When their reputation is at stake, five-year-olds employ simple strategies—such as acting more generously—to achieve reputation management. For instance, the presence of an observer prompts five-year-olds to be more generous during sharing tasks (Engelmann et al., 2012). Similarly, robots with social attributes have been shown to promote sharing behavior in five-year-olds (Okumura et al., 2023). Even in the absence of an observer, five-year-olds demonstrate increased generosity in sharing tasks when they hear positive evaluations of generous behavior from others (Qin et al., 2021). As children grow older, their reputation management strategies become more flexible; they begin to integrate the beliefs of others and exhibit more nuanced sharing behaviors in reputational contexts. For example, in a study by Shinohara (2019), when observers were unaware of a recipient's moral character, six-year-old children showed no significant difference in sharing between recipients with prosocial versus antisocial traits. However, when the observer was aware of the recipient's moral character, the six-year-olds shared significantly fewer resources with antisocial recipients compared to prosocial ones.

2.1.2 助人行为

Helping behavior also emerges in early childhood; infants as young as 12 months old can provide information to others by pointing to objects (Liszkowski et al., 2008). Researchers generally agree that children begin to help spontaneously by the age of two (Köster & Kärtner, 2019; Martin et al., 2020). In early infancy, children do not consider their own reputation when helping others. For example, 24-month-old infants provide the same level of assistance regardless of whether the recipient is present (Hepach et al., 2017). Furthermore, research on the emotional and physiological arousal associated with helping behavior shows that 2-year-olds exhibit similar levels of positive emotion and sympathetic nervous system arousal whether they help someone themselves or witness a third party helping (Hepach et al., 2023, 2012). For children around 2 years of age, the intrinsic motivation for helping is not to gain a good reputation or a reward, but simply the desire to see the other person receive help (Hepach et al., 2013). However, as socialization progresses, children's motivations for helping become less "pure." They begin to pay attention to their own reputation and seek to manage it through helping behaviors. For instance, Hepach et al. (2024) found that 5-year-olds utilize prosocial help and subsequent communicative behaviors to enhance their reputation. Under high-cost conditions, they are quicker to inform their partners of their assistance and are more likely to protest when a third party mistakenly praises someone else.

Hepach (2023) found that when the outcome—the recipient receiving help—remains the same, 5-year-olds exhibit higher levels of positive emotion when they provide the help personally compared to merely watching the recipient be helped. Furthermore, when an observer is present, 5-year-olds show even greater positive emotion after helping, whereas 2-year-olds exhibit the same level of emotional arousal regardless of who provides the assistance. This demonstrates that 5-year-olds already consider their own reputation when helping; when they see someone in need, they are more willing to provide help themselves to avoid missing an opportunity to gain a good reputation. Behavioral experiments have also found that children strategically help others to maintain their image. In a study by Siposova et al. (2021), 5-year-olds and an experimenter participated in a task where they either privately or jointly knew that an injured person needed help.

In the condition where it was common knowledge that the injured person needed help, children could choose to either take a sticker for themselves or give it up to help. The results showed that in the common knowledge condition, children were faster and more likely to sacrifice their own interests to help the injured person (e.g., helping them sit down) than in the private knowledge condition. This suggests they understood that they could not evade responsibility in a common knowledge context and felt compelled to provide help to maintain a prosocial image.

These findings demonstrate that starting from age 5, children's helping behavior becomes strategic and serves as a tool for reputation management. In addition to focusing on their own reputation, children also show concern for the reputation of others when judging helping behaviors. For example, when a helper's friend is present, children more strongly support the helper's decision to provide assistance, further proving that 5-year-olds consider reputational factors when evaluating helping situations (Sierksma et al., 2014).

2.2.1 合作行为

Cooperative behavior refers to individuals utilizing reputation to make cooperative choices during social interactions, as well as engaging in prosocial actions within cooperative contexts to cultivate a positive reputation conducive to collaboration. Research indicates that cooperators are selective in their interactions with others, and this selection is largely based on judgments of others' reputations \cite{Tennie et al., 2010}. In cooperative settings, individuals evaluate the reputation of others to confirm the value of potential partners and select those with good standing. Correspondingly, individuals are aware that others are making reputation judgments about them and adjust their behavior accordingly to shape a more positive social image for future interactions \cite{Tomasello et al., 2012}. As a vital psychological mechanism for human social cooperation, reputation management serves as an essential means of maintaining cooperation and is a strategic tool that children gradually acquire and utilize through interactive practice.

Starting from age five, children begin to demonstrate a concern for reputation, a capacity that serves as a key psychological mechanism for high-level human cooperation \cite{Manrique et al., 2021}. To be selected as a future cooperative partner, children must adjust their behavior to influence the reputation judgments of others. In a study by \cite{Warneken (2019)}, resource recipients possessed attractive toys. Five-year-old children could choose to share either high-value or low-value resources with them. When the recipient was tasked with choosing between the child and a competitor to play with the toys, the five-year-olds shared significantly more high-value resources.

From this, it can be inferred that to achieve future direct reciprocal cooperation, five-year-old children can construct a better reputation by adjusting their behavior, thereby increasing the likelihood that they will be chosen as a partner. Beyond direct reciprocity, children also engage in more prosocial behavior driven by reputation management to achieve indirect reciprocal cooperation. In the study by \cite{Engelmann (2013)}, five-year-olds shared more resources with a recipient when a third-party observer was present to witness the sharing process before subsequently sharing resources themselves.

\cite{Herrmann (2019)} also found that compared to merely being observed by a third party, five-year-olds shared more when their behavior was observed and the observer had the potential to select them as a future partner. This suggests that children do not merely notice the presence of an observer; rather, they strategically adjust their prosocial behavior based on reputation to shape a positive image, thereby increasing their chances of being selected as a partner.

Regarding the developmental process of reputation management in prosocial behavior, children begin to show concern for their own reputation starting at age five \cite{Kelsey, Grossmann, & Vaish, 2025}. As they age, the motivation for reputation management in prosocial behavior gradually shifts from functioning unconsciously to consciously \cite{Engelmann & Rapp, 2018}. Children generally become aware of the importance of reputation and demonstrate concern for it, exhibiting increased prosocial behavior in helping or sharing tasks due to reputation management motives \cite{Silver & Shaw, 2018}. Although reputation management in children's prosocial behavior follows a universal developmental trajectory, its manifestation and underlying mechanisms vary depending on the specific type of prosocial behavior. From the perspective of the behavioral process, sharing and helping are primarily altruistic, supportive behaviors, whereas cooperation is characterized more by interpersonal reciprocity \cite{2018}. Sharing and helping are unidirectional social interactions where the resources are typically not balanced; one individual possesses a resource that the other needs but lacks. In these cases, a child's strategic prosocial behavior aims at the ultimate goal of constructing a good reputation, and the rewards based on that reputation are often delayed. Furthermore, sharing and helping do not guaranteed a good reputation; if reputation management strategies are used improperly, even performing more altruistic acts can carry the risk of reputational damage. In contrast, cooperation is a bidirectional social interaction where both parties are equal and possess the power of choice. As one of the parties, the child is not only an active selector of partners but is also subject to being selected. In this context, the motivation for reputation management is not just to possess a good reputation, but to use that reputation to increase the probability of being chosen as a partner. In cooperative settings, reputation-based feedback is more immediate, as a good reputation (such as being perceived as generous) helps facilitate successful cooperation with desirable partners.

The manifestation of reputation management in prosocial behavior can be divided into two categories: strategic sharing and helping are prosocial behaviors where reputation is the end goal. In cooperative contexts, reputation shifts from being the "destination" to a "waystation"—becoming a means to achieve ideal cooperation.

3 亲社会行为中声誉管理的心理机制

Reputation management is a sophisticated social cognitive ability. It requires individuals to first attend to and understand others' evaluations of them, subsequently weigh the social value of their own actions, and ultimately decide whether to engage in behaviors intended to manage their self-image.

Children's reputation management within pro-social contexts is driven by an integration of individual cognition, social motivation, and neurophysiological foundations.

3.1 个体认知视角

Heyman (2021) argues that children face two major cognitive challenges when engaging in reputation management: first, integrating diverse information to infer words and deeds that possess social value; and second, acting in accordance with those social values based on these inferences to ultimately secure positive social evaluations. Throughout this process, children must identify and integrate relevant information to infer others' mental states and social value systems. They must also coordinate their reputation with other competing interests, making choices and exercising control over their own behavior. This poses significant challenges to a child's cognitive abilities. First, inferring the mental states of others based on social information requires children to reach a certain level of Theory of Mind. Second, the understanding of norms is a critical cognitive ability required for children to infer social value orientations and make reputational judgments; only by

understanding social norms can they adjust their behavior according to established standards to acquire a good reputation. Third, when faced with the choice between immediate interests and the long-term rewards brought by a good reputation, children must possess the capacity for delayed gratification to secure the latter's long-term benefits. Furthermore, as children integrate and coordinate information from multiple sources and put it into action, working memory provides the fundamental cognitive support for the realization of these psychological processes, thereby enhancing the efficiency of the reputation management cognitive system (Manrique et al., 2021).

3.1.1 心理理论

Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others and to use this understanding to interpret behavior (Flavell, 2004). The multiple motivation theory posits that ToM helps children weigh the pros and cons of different motivations in specific contexts, thereby balancing self-interest with the needs of others (Yu, Zhu & Leslie, 2016; 2017). Reputation management consists of two interrelated processes: first, identifying social values and generalizing social norms by inferring the mental states of others (Heyman et al., 2021); and second, adjusting behavior after becoming aware of social values and others' reputational judgments, even at the cost of sacrificing self-interest to obtain a more positive evaluation (Zhang et al., 2023). In this process, children need to perceive and interpret social expectations (Hill & Pillow, 2006) and make trade-offs between competing motivations. Therefore, the level of Theory of Mind significantly influences their performance in reputation management during prosocial behaviors.

Zhang (2023) investigated the Theory of Mind levels of children and the number of stickers they shared across different reputation contexts. The results showed that while children's ToM scores were not significantly correlated with the number of stickers shared in non-reputational contexts, they were significantly correlated with sharing behavior in reputational contexts. Furthermore, in reputation contexts involving partner choice, children exhibited more pronounced reputation management behaviors. This suggests that ToM has a positive predictive effect on children's reputation management; children with more mature ToM can better understand the impact of reputation on themselves and accurately infer others' beliefs, thereby better engaging in behaviors that establish and maintain a good reputation. Beyond typical development, the role of ToM in reputation management has been extensively highlighted in comparative studies of autism (Cage et al., 2013, 2016; 2022). Cage et al. (2016) found that under implicit reputation conditions—where an "observer is present"—children with autism shared fewer coins when observed. However, under explicit reputation conditions—where they were "explicitly told that their performance ranking would be seen by others"—some lower-ranked children with autism chose not to disclose their ranking, similar to typically developing children. This indicates that deficits in implicit ToM lead to impairments in implicit reputation management in children with autism, though they retain certain reputation management abilities when provided with explicit information cues (Cage et al., 2013). These findings validate the critical role of Theory of Mind in the process of reputation management.

Individuals live within a social environment saturated with norms. Social norms are standards of behavioral rules agreed upon and observed by a social collective, conveying the collective's expectations for individual behavior (Schmidt et al., 2016). Driven by social norms, different behaviors carry corresponding reputational consequences (Jordan, 2023). In previous research, the sensitivity to norms developed in early childhood has often been regarded as one of the key factors in the development of reputation concern (Botto & Rochat, 2019).

With the development of cognitive abilities, children increasingly understand the obligations and rights that norms bring to individuals (Manrique et al., 2021). Social norms encourage people to direct resources toward individuals with good reputations, and children's reputation management develops on the cognitive foundation of norm understanding (Jordan, 2023). In the process of reputation management, norm understanding serves as a bridge. First, norm understanding provides a more precise reference for children to infer social value orientations. Often, people do not accurately convey their beliefs, and their outward behavior may even contradict their internal beliefs (Yoon et al., 2020). In such cases, individuals must make detailed reputational inferences. For example, although people generally accord a good reputation to altruists, the reputational benefits of an action are constrained by social norms. Excessive altruistic behavior that deviates from the norm may not enhance the actor's reputation, even if it brings more benefits to others (Kawamura & Kusumi, 2020). Additionally, research has found that children can flexibly adjust resource allocation based on an observer's knowledge of whether a recipient is antisocial. This suggests they not only understand the core requirement of encouraging prosociality and inhibiting antisociality but can also effectively apply this norm across different social contexts (Jordan, 2023; Shinohara et al., 2019). Second, norm understanding provides directional guidance for children's reputation management.

Numerous studies have demonstrated that children can spontaneously infer social norms based on others' behaviors and their consequences, using these as standards for reputation management (Liu et al., 2022; Qin et al., 2021; Sai et al., 2020). In the study by Liu et al. (2022), once children understood the norms, they were more likely to confess to cheating to maintain a reputation for honesty. Furthermore, Engelmann et al. (2012) found that when observed, children significantly reduced stealing behavior, while helping behavior only showed a trend toward difference.

Evaluating social norms is essential; for children, the simple social norm of rejecting theft is easier to internalize, illustrating the impact of norm understanding on reputation management. In summary, children's reputation management is inseparable from their ability to understand norms. Individuals must comprehend social norms and moderately adjust their behavior within these standard boundaries to achieve effective reputation management.

After confirming social value orientations, individuals must obtain a positive reputation through appropriate behavioral choices and effective execution. When faced with a conflict between immediate desires and personal reputation, children must inhibit the impulse to choose immediate interests—which could negatively impact their reputation—to achieve more significant long-term goals. Due to the social reward nature of a good reputation and its potential benefits, the process of reputation management requires the participation of delayed gratification, a component of "hot" executive function closely related to it. Research on sharing behavior in reciprocal contexts has found that 5-year-old children increase sharing toward potential reciprocators compared to non-reciprocators, and their ability to delay gratification is positively correlated with their tendency to share. This suggests that the ability to delay gratification may be a prerequisite for children to foster cooperation through generous sharing (Sebastian Enesco & Warneken, 2015). Additionally, in delayed gratification tasks, the choices 3-year-olds make regarding different delayed rewards reflect their consideration of the magnitude of the difference between immediate and future gains (Lemmon & Moore, 2007). This is similar to the internal logic of choosing long-term future interests during reputation investment. Direct research on children's delayed gratification and reputation management shows that when reputational conditions are present, 3- to 4-year-old children wait longer to manage their reputation than they do in general delayed gratification tasks.

(Ma et al., 2020; 2016). Regarding this point, when required not to cheat in a reputational context, although children did not...

结果

Despite this, they still demonstrated longer delay times during the process of resisting temptation. This aligns with the developmental trajectory of children's delayed gratification abilities. Research indicates that a significant shift in delayed gratification occurs around the age of 4, as children transition from preferring smaller immediate rewards to larger delayed rewards, showing substantial progress in both delay duration and the employment of delay strategies \cite{Lemmon2007, 2005}. It is evident that delayed gratification plays a vital role in the realization of reputation management behaviors.

Working memory is essential for individuals to perform complex tasks such as reasoning, comprehension, and planning. It serves as a workstation for the temporary storage and processing of information, activating long-term memory and integrating it with new input according to the individual's needs \cite{Baddeley2010, Diamond2013}. When managing their own reputation, individuals must monitor their image in the eyes of others from multiple perspectives and imagine the future progression of events—a process in which working memory plays a key role \cite{Manrique2021}. According to models of social cognitive development, children internalize social environment rules and acquire an understanding of social norms at an early age \cite{Paulus2014}. These norms reside in the child's long-term memory; during reputation management, social norms are activated by working memory, providing an effective reference for the individual's reputation inferences and behavioral choices \cite{Manrique2021}. Furthermore, working memory is closely linked to an individual's capacity for delayed gratification. Lower working memory capacity is associated with higher delay discounting (the reduction of a reward's perceived value over time), which leads to poorer performance in delayed gratification tasks due to an excessive devaluation of the reward \cite{Hinson2003}. \cite{2016} compared the executive function profiles of children who succeeded versus those who failed in delayed gratification tasks, finding that successful children possessed stronger working memory. This further proves the critical role of working memory in delayed gratification. However, general cognitive working memory typically focuses on performance related to letters, numbers, and spatial locations, rather than social cognitive information such as traits, beliefs, and interpersonal relationships \cite{Meyer2012}. Moreover, the processing of social and non-social cognitive information relies on distinct neural systems \cite{Meyer2012}. Consequently, whether general working memory facilitates social cognition remains a subject of debate \cite{Thornton2013}. To better explore working memory specifically for social information, researchers proposed the concept of Social Working Memory (SWM), defined as the ability to maintain and process information regarding people's beliefs, traits, and mental states \cite{Meyer2012}. Research has found that preschool children's Theory of Mind (ToM) is positively predicted by SWM rather than general working memory. Children with stronger SWM can more effectively and efficiently understand social interactions, making them more likely to engage in such interactions, which may further promote the development of ToM \cite{He2019}.

Another study involving adults further confirmed that social working memory training significantly improves the accuracy of perspective-taking, whereas general working memory training does not \cite{Meyer2016}. These studies demonstrate the unique role of SWM in understanding and participating in social interactions, which is crucial for reputation management—a high-level social cognitive ability. SWM not only helps individuals more efficiently understand social evaluation contexts but may also facilitate the rapid identification of behaviors within a group that garner a positive reputation, thereby encouraging more proactive reputation management. In summary, from an individual cognitive perspective, Theory of Mind, understanding of norms, and delayed gratification respectively influence the two major processes of reputation management: inferring value orientation and taking effective action \cite{Heyman2021}. Inferring value orientation involves reasoning about and predicting others' mental states and social values, which relies on Theory of Mind and norm comprehension. Taking effective action involves making reputational judgments based on these value orientations and implementing effective behaviors to maintain or optimize one's reputation; this requires norm comprehension to guide behavioral choices and delayed gratification to regulate behavior. Working memory serves as the foundation for these cognitive processes, providing the necessary platform and support. Within the cognitive mechanism of reputation management, Theory of Mind provides the perspective, norm comprehension establishes the value benchmark, delayed gratification enables behavioral regulation, and working memory provides the underlying cognitive platform. Together, these four core elements constitute the complete functional process from cognition to behavior.

3.2 社会动机视角

Although cognitive development provides the foundation for reputation management, children do not actively attend to their own reputations without the drive of social motivation (Chevallier et al., 2012; Engelmann & Rapp, 2018). The emergence and development of reputation management begin with a child's cognitive understanding of the value of reputation, which leads to focused attention and eventually externalizes into behavior. In this process, at least three social motivations act as internal drivers: indirect reciprocity, social interaction, and social reward. Reciprocity refers to behavioral responses that depend on the other party's future investment and is divided into direct and indirect reciprocity (Cage et al., 2016; Tennie et al., 2010). Understanding the principle of reciprocity involves the expectation that others will reciprocate in kind.

(Cage et al., 2016; , 2022) Direct reciprocity is limited to the exchange of resources between two parties, and its role in promoting a broad understanding of reputation in individuals is relatively limited.

In contrast, indirect reciprocity plays a more critical role in the formation of reputation understanding. Although investing in one's reputation may initially incur costs, possessing a good reputation allows an individual to gain greater long-term benefits from others through indirect reciprocity (Milinski et al., 2002; Manrique et al., 2021). This is because people are more likely to help those with positive reputations and are more willing to cooperate with individuals who have good reputations (Balliet et al., 2020). This is especially true for "strong reciprocators," who implement rewards or punishments based on a third party's reputation—specifically, whether they cooperate actively (Fehr & Fischbacher, 2003). As demonstrated in children's performance in sharing and cooperation tasks, they share more resources when a third-party observer is present as a potential source of indirect reciprocity (Engelmann et al., 2013). Similarly, as practitioners of indirect reciprocity, children are more willing to allocate more resources to individuals with good reputations and prefer to choose individuals with positive reputations for cooperation (Warneken, 2018). This mechanism transcends one-on-one interactions, prompting individuals to consider the reputational impact of their actions within a broader social network (Milinski, 2016). In summary, while direct reciprocity only requires an individual to speculate on the reaction of an interaction partner, indirect reciprocity requires the ability to infer third-party social evaluations and learn to use reputation to seek long-term gains in large-scale environments, thereby fostering the concern for and maintenance of one's own reputation.

The focus of children's social motivation shifts across different developmental stages, and these shifts occur in coordination with the emergence and development of their reputation management.

In Romano's framework for the operation of reputation systems, changes in socio-ecological conditions—including the social environment—affect how the reputation system functions. The higher the mobility of the social environment an individual inhabits, the stronger the reliance on reputation becomes.

During infancy and early childhood, children's interactions are most frequent within stable environments with low mobility and a lack of peer interaction experience; thus, the core of social motivation is to satisfy basic physiological and safety needs. Although infants already show a preference for interacting with cooperative partners, they are not yet aware that they themselves are also being judged by others (Engelmann et al., 2012). Coupled with the limitations of early cognitive abilities, young children possess neither the capacity to understand reputation nor a social need for it. As children's social-cognitive abilities develop and the mobility of their social environment increases, the significance and importance of reputation in their lives begin to manifest.

Peer interactions begin to transition from a focus on activities to a focus on social relationships themselves (Parker et al., 2006). During the preschool years, children concentrate increasing attention on their peers, and social motivation begins to shift toward the establishment of peer relationships (Parker et al., 2006). They start to show interest in social interaction, enter into choice-based social relationships, and gradually develop the social motivation to be selected by their peers.

In this process, reputation is a vital factor helping individuals make partner choices (Giardini et al., 2021; Milinski, 2016; Számadó et al., 2021). According to cooperation theory, individuals tend to choose those with good reputations for cooperation (Fu et al., 2008). Group selection theory further suggests that groups with more prosocial individuals have a competitive advantage (2014).

Therefore, to be selected as a partner, individuals must pay attention to their own reputation. This makes partner choice a key driving factor for the emergence of reputation concern in children (Engelmann & Rapp, 2018). However, for young children with limited cognitive abilities, while they may show concern for their own reputation when facing partner choice, they may not necessarily be able to implement actual reputation management behaviors (Zhang et al., 2023). Partner choice serves as a significant prerequisite for the budding of reputation concern in young children.

From middle to late childhood, children's social motivation shifts toward seeking peer approval and group acceptance, building friendship networks, stabilizing group identity, and seeking equality and a sense of belonging (Over, 2016; Parker et al., 2006). In developmental models, the core goal of friendship for younger children is interaction, whereas by age 8, children transition to seeking peer validation (Banerjee, 2000). This shift in peer interaction patterns heightens children's sensitivity to their own social evaluation.

This is mirrored in the changing understanding of gossip; while younger children care about the accuracy of gossip content, older children are more concerned with how to use gossip to manipulate their own and others' reputations to influence social standing within the group (Parker et al., 2006). In research by (2016), children with higher friendship motivation scores were more sensitive to social evaluation and more likely to protect their reputations.

Peer acceptance prompts children to more actively and strategically manage their own reputations. As children's social skills develop and social relationships expand, their reputation management capabilities also mature when their social motivation shifts from partner choice to social approval. In children's social interactions, in addition to equal friendship relationships, there are also interactions with adults (2003). Social interaction with authority figures, such as parents and teachers, is also an important factor prompting children to engage in reputation management. When performing cost-benefit estimations, children are sensitive to information related to social status (Ma et al., 2020); authority figures have more power to define and interpret social norms and possess more social resources.

To obtain their approval and support, children often behave in ways that meet the expectations of authority figures. For example, in a study by (2020), children waited longer in a delayed gratification task when a teacher was informed compared to when a peer was informed. Furthermore, children's choices are influenced by the identity of their audience; compared to presenting before peers, children are more likely to choose to describe their learning skills when in front of adults (Banerjee, 2002). These findings reflect that children have different reputational considerations in authoritative relationships than in peer relationships.

Although group characteristics can cause changes in the way children manage their reputation, overall, compared to the motivation for partner choice, when children begin to seek social approval, the motivation to gain that approval directly drives reputation management behaviors rather than remaining solely at the level of reputation concern. At this stage, reputation management is the external manifestation of the dual development of motivation and cognition.

The development of reward preference begins at birth, matures with the development of the brain's reward system, and has a significant impact on an individual's behavioral development (Wang et al., 2017). For an individual, once they understand the social significance behind reputation, a positive reputation acquires the attributes of a social reward (Hill & Pillow, 2006; Izuma, 2012; Phan et al., 2010).

In classic tasks studying individual reward processing, processing includes two stages: reward anticipation and reward consumption (Rademacher et al., 2010), which correspond to two psychological components of reward processing: "Wanting" and "Liking" (Wang et al., 2022). Wanting is a form of motivation triggered by reward cues or the imagination of rewards, while Liking is the actual pleasurable experience brought by the reward (Grimm et al., 2021). In a social environment, reputation serves as a reward cue; a good reputation brings social acceptance, respect, recognition, and increased cooperation and reciprocity (Milinski, 2016; Tennie et al., 2010). Reputation itself can also serve as a social reward; the pleasure experienced from a positive reputation stimulates the desire to further acquire it. In a study by (2021), 5-year-old children who heard adults praising their sharing behavior shared more. This proves that, driven by the social reward of a positive reputation, children pay attention to the reputational benefits of their actions and adjust their behavior accordingly.

For children who have developed an understanding of reputation but have not yet developed reputation management behaviors, social rewards primarily trigger reputation concern (Zhang et al., 2023). When there are deficits in social reward processing, individuals lack sufficient motivation regarding social reward anticipation and find it difficult to experience the pleasure brought by rewards, thus lacking the drive to manage their own reputation (Wang et al., 2022; , 2022). In short, reputation management can be described as the process by which an individual generates social reward expectations regarding a positive reputation and takes strategic actions to achieve it.

In conclusion, social motivation provides the internal impetus for children's reputation understanding and their management of reputation during prosocial behavior. In the emergence and development of reputation management, indirect reciprocity promotes children's understanding of reputation, partner choice triggers concern for one's own reputation, and social approval and social rewards provide the internal driving force for children's reputation management behaviors.

3.3 神经生理视角

The core process of reputation management can be summarized into two primary components: first, the formation of metarepresentations of reputation—that is, thinking about reputation—which requires individuals to reflect on how others perceive them; and second, cost-benefit analysis—that is, the selection of behavior—which requires individuals to analyze the expected rewards and punishments associated with their reputation to choose the most valuable course of action \cite{Izuma, 2012; 2022}.

Neuroscientific research on reputation management has identified the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the striatum as the primary brain regions involved. When individuals need to manage their reputation, activation is observed in both the mPFC and the striatum \cite{Izuma et al., 2010}. According to previous studies, the mPFC plays a critical role in forming abstract or metacognitive representations, allowing individuals to reflect on others' perceptions of themselves \cite{Amodio & Frith, 2006}. Meanwhile, as a brain region associated with reward and punishment processing, the striatum shows increased activity in response to both concrete material rewards and abstract social rewards, such as a good reputation \cite{Izuma et al., 2008}. Specifically, the activation of the caudate nucleus is more pronounced in response to reputation-related stimuli \cite{Wardle et al., 2013}. Integrating the metacognitive representations of the mPFC with the value evaluation functions of the striatum, reputation-related information is first represented in the mPFC and subsequently transmitted to the striatum for further value assessment. This process supports individuals in performing appropriate behaviors within specific social contexts \cite{Izuma et al., 2010}. Beyond these regions, when individuals conduct reputation analysis, they may also recruit areas associated with the metarepresentations required for Theory of Mind (ToM), such as the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and the superior temporal sulcus (STS) \cite{Saxe & Kanwisher, 2003}. Similarly, the social reward/punishment or value evaluation of reputation involves regions beyond the striatum; for instance, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and the amygdala are also sensitive to gains and losses. These areas participate in the trade-off between effort and return, as well as reward and punishment, serving as vital regions in reward processing \cite{Lin et al., 2012; 2021}. From this perspective, we propose a psychological mechanism model of reputation management in prosocial behavior. In this model, social motivation serves as the driving layer (i.e., "why do it"); through indirect reciprocity, children become aware of the value of reputation, leading to a focus on and management of their own reputation driven by social interaction and social rewards.

Individual cognition serves as the capability layer (i.e., "what can be done"). The development of abilities such as Theory of Mind, normative understanding, and delayed gratification enables children to infer others' value orientations, evaluate social value, and regulate their own behavior. During the process of reputation management, the close collaboration between multiple brain regions, including the medial prefrontal cortex and the striatum, provides the necessary physiological support. After an action is taken, feedback from social interactions further influences motivation and cognition, allowing children to adjust their cognitive reasoning and strategic choices while regulating their social motivation. This constitutes a continuously developing mechanism. Within this cycle, children gradually develop a mature and stable pattern of reputation management.

4.1 拓展亲社会行为中儿童声誉管理的发生与发展研究

First, future research should explore the early emergence and development of reputation management. Initial interview-based studies on reputation management suggested that 8-year-olds begin to express concerns about their reputation, whereas 5-year-olds do not \cite{Aloise-Young1993}. This was attributed to a lack of motivation for reputation management in younger children \cite{Banerjee2002}. However, as experimental designs have improved, researchers have argued that young children do possess the motivation for reputation management; rather, earlier experimental tasks imposed high demands on self-awareness and linguistic skills that young children could not meet \cite{Kelsey2018}. By further reducing cognitive load and extraneous task demands, recent studies have found that reputation management appears as early as age 2 \cite{Ma2023, Ma2025}. Nevertheless, many researchers still hold opposing views regarding whether children around age 3 possess reputation management capabilities \cite{Engelmann2018, Warneken2019}. For instance, in a 2020 study, 3-year-olds made no effort to mitigate reputation risks, and another study found that reputation management behaviors do not emerge until age 5 \cite{Silver2023}. Given these controversies and the recent trend toward "younger ages" in reputation management findings, future research should develop tasks better suited for early childhood to more deeply explore the early origins and developmental trajectory of this behavior.

Second, future research could expand the developmental models of children's reputation management across different prosocial behaviors to establish a more explanatory mechanistic framework. Currently, research on the development of reputation management in the prosocial domain is largely concentrated on sharing, cooperation, and helping behaviors. However, prosociality is a multidimensional construct encompassing a broader range of interpersonal behaviors \cite{Yu2021}. Different forms of prosocial behavior may have their own developmental patterns and unique motivational or socio-cognitive predictors \cite{Brownell2013}. By using the roles of sharing, helping, and cooperation as references, children's reputation management in prosocial contexts can be categorized into two major types: reputation-as-goal and reputation-as-strategy. Future research should also explore reputation management in other prosocial behaviors, such as prosocial lying and prosocial risk-taking \cite{Armstrong-Carter2024, Ahn2020}. By integrating behavioral mechanisms and classifying categories based on more fundamental dimensions, researchers can enrich the study of children's prosociality while constructing a more robust explanatory framework from a functional perspective.

Furthermore, reputation includes both positive and negative dimensions. Reputation management involves not only the creation and maintenance of a positive reputation but also the improvement of a negative one. A study of Scottish adults found that when participants were told that Scots were perceived as "stingy" by outsiders, they behaved more generously toward out-group members to defend their group's reputation \cite{Hopkins2007}. However, current research on children's reputation management focuses primarily on how positive reputation influences prosocial behavior or rule-breaking. Perhaps due to ethical considerations, research on the impact of negative reputation on children's behavior is rare. Nevertheless, negative reputation remains an indispensable part of the social experience.

Therefore, future research should balance ethical considerations while exploring how reputation management based on negative reputation manifests in children's prosocial behavior. Third, future studies should investigate reputation management in prosocial behaviors within group contexts and across diverse cultural backgrounds.

Attention should be paid to reputation management in children's prosocial behavior within group settings. Previous studies have often treated children as isolated individuals when examining the emergence, development, and influencing factors of reputation management. However, as socialization progresses, children's prosocial behavior becomes closely linked to group factors such as group identity, status, and norms \cite{Zhao2022}. Since reputation is an individual evaluation generated on a collective basis, it is essential to conduct research within group contexts. Additionally, it is necessary to focus on how cultural differences influence reputation management in children's prosocial behavior.

Reputation is a product of social collective construction; thus, the degree to which different socio-cultural environments emphasize the collective will influence children's reputation management behaviors. Furthermore, children from different cultural backgrounds vary in their sensitivity to reputation cues.

For example, Chinese culture emphasizes interpersonal relationships and "cultures of face," placing high value on how others evaluate the self \cite{Leung2011, Kim2009}. Traditional education often upholds values such as "strict fathers produce filial sons" and "strict teachers produce talented students." In contrast, American society places more emphasis on individual value and "cultures of dignity," where self-worth is viewed as independent of others' opinions \cite{Gunsoy2020, Leung2011}. Compared to the United States, Chinese family and school education tend to offer relatively less positive praise and more negative feedback regarding failure \cite{Wang2019, Ng2007}. These cultural differences may shape children's distinct cognitive and emotional responses to reputational situations.

Empirical research indicates that compared to American children, Chinese and Japanese children exhibit higher sensitivity when facing reputation-related situations \cite{Fu2011, Heyman2010}. Fourth, future research can further explore the direct or indirect factors influencing children's reputation management behavior.

Although existing theories have constructed a logical chain identifying working memory as the cognitive foundation of reputation management, the field still lacks direct evidence revealing a causal link between the two. Research has demonstrated that working memory—especially social working memory—is a critical cognitive resource for advanced social abilities such as Theory of Mind and complex social interactions \cite{He2019, McQuade2013, Meyer2012, Shimizu2023}. Therefore, future research should systematically examine the dynamic influence mechanisms of working memory and other related cognitive factors on children's reputation management.

Beyond cognitive abilities, individual psychological traits (such as self-efficacy, self-esteem, and personality tendencies) may influence reputation management by moderating the "cognition-behavior" expression process \cite{Erkmen2019, Hertz2020, Collodi2018}. Individuals with different personality traits show varying sensitivity to reputation; those with high conscientiousness, high social dominance orientation, low openness, and low anxiety are more likely to be influenced by reputational concerns.

Hertz \cite{Hertz2020} found that when individuals are more confident in their own abilities, they may be more willing to "pay" to enhance their social influence. Additionally, research has found that social anxiety has a more significant impact on individual reputation management decisions than traits associated with the autism spectrum \cite{Dubey2024}. This evidence suggests that self-efficacy, social anxiety, and personality traits are key psychological factors affecting reputation management.

Therefore, future research should not only focus on cognitive factors but also further explore how differences in children's psychological traits moderate their reputation management behaviors, thereby revealing the important role of non-cognitive factors in the mechanisms underlying reputation management.

4.2 关注儿童亲社会行为中声誉管理的脑神经机制探索

The neurocognitive mechanisms underlying reputation management remain a critical direction for future in-depth exploration. Beyond the functions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), the perception and management of reputation require the mobilization of brain regions associated with social perception and self-control.

Processing social information related to reputation requires the recruitment of brain regions such as the amygdala, temporal visual cortex, and anterior insula (AI). Research indicates that the amygdala plays a vital role in processing information regarding others' eyes and gaze, judging facial trustworthiness, and handling emotional and socially relevant information \cite{Kennedy & Adolphs, 2010; Santos et al., 2016}. The temporal visual cortex, particularly the fusiform face area (FFA), is involved in facial and identity recognition \cite{Vuilleumier, 2007}. The anterior insula also participates in the conscious awareness of meaningful sensory information during social interactions by regulating dynamic transitions between brain networks \cite{Huang et al., 2021}. Because reputation management requires the inhibition of immediate self-interest that might damage one's standing, it further necessitates the mobilization of executive control regions. These include the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), which are more closely associated with "cold" executive functions, as well as the medial orbital prefrontal cortex (mOFC), ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC), and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), which are linked to "hot" executive functions \cite{Salehinejad et al., 2021}. Furthermore, throughout childhood and adolescence, the strengthening of connectivity between the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and parietal lobes (PL) serves as the neural foundation for the developmental transition of executive functions \cite{Best & Miller, 2010}. Reputation management involves complex psychological processes—including cognition, emotion, and motivation—leading to multifaceted brain activation patterns that vary according to individual differences and task types.

While the aforementioned brain regions are associated with the cognitive processing required for reputation management, it remains to be definitively determined whether these regions play a causal role during the actual process of managing one's reputation.

Furthermore, the scope of research on the neurophysiological mechanisms of reputation management should be extended to young children to explore early cognitive development. Currently, physiological research in this field is predominantly focused on adult populations.

Although some researchers have utilized sensors to demonstrate that children engage in reputation-based helping behavior \cite{Hepach et al., 2023}, no studies have yet directly revealed the neural basis of reputation management in children. Brain development is closely intertwined with social cognitive development. Under peer observation, children exhibit task-independent activations in brain regions related to attention and reward; however, compared to adults, children show a lack of activation in the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ). This may be due to the fact that the rTPJ does not reach maturity until late childhood \cite{Tricoche et al., 2022}. In summary, future research should employ neuroimaging techniques to explore the neural mechanisms of reputation management in children by comparing different age groups.

By examining brain activation patterns, researchers can reveal the development of relevant brain regions and neural pathways. Considering the ethical and technical constraints inherent in pediatric neuroscience, future studies should utilize physiological research technologies such as functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and eye-tracking to investigate the neurophysiological mechanisms of reputation management within children's prosocial behavior.

4.3 加强儿童声誉管理的应用实践研究

Reputation plays a significant role in child development, helping children internalize the values of others \cite{Heyman et al., 2021}. Throughout this process, evaluations from teachers, parents, and peers shape the formation and evolution of a child's reputation, which in turn triggers corresponding reputation management behaviors. Maintaining a positive reputation encourages children to uphold their standing, making them more likely to engage in prosocial behavior \cite{Zhang et al., 2023}. However, reputation can be a "double-edged sword"; for instance, possessing a reputation for being "smart" can have complex effects \cite{Zhao et al., 2017, 2018}. Furthermore, praise from authority figures influences the development of a child's achievement concepts \cite{Zhao et al., 2022}.

The concern for reputation among school-aged children is also closely linked to the establishment and realization of their achievement goals \cite{Good & Shaw, 2021}. Future research should integrate children's reputation management into the practical frameworks of school, family, and social education. By fully leveraging reputation as a motivational tool, educators can stimulate children's drive for learning, thereby refining the collaborative "school-family-society" educational system.

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Children’s reputation management in prosocial behavior and its psychological mechanisms SHEN Yue , XIN Cong , ZHENG Yuanxia , LIU Guoxiong

( 1 School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210097, China )

( 2 School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, Fu zhou 350117, China )

( 3 Department of Psychology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China )

stract Reputation management is a strategic behavior aimed at controlling others’ evaluations in order to attain desired personal reputation. In the evoluting process of children’s prosocial motivation, their concern for their own reputation gradually emerges an d is manifested in their prosocial behavior. Based on this, this study reviews how reputation management is expressed in children s prosocial behaviors and its developmental trends . Furthermore, the inherent psychological mechanisms of reputation management are analyzed from three perspectives: individual cognition, social motivation, and physiological neural factors. A comprehensive model of reputation management is proposed based on cognition, motivation, and brain neuroscience.

Future research should further investigate the emergence, development, and influencing factors of reputation management in children s prosocial behavior, investigate the neural mechanisms underlying reputation management, and strengthen the application and practical research of children’s reputation management. words social behavior children reputation management cognitive motivational neural mechanisms.