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An interesting study was published in Child Development comparing the motivational levels of children willing to help adults based on how the children were asked to help.  The participants included about 150, 3-6 year olds, who participated in two experiments.   In one experiment, the adults talked to the children about helping then referred to helping with a verb (e.g., “Some children choose to help”).  In the other experiment, again the adult talked to the children about helping but referred to helping with a noun (e.g., “Some children choose to be helpers”).
The children then began playing with toys. While they were playing, the adult provided four opportunities for the youngsters to stop and help the experimenter—to pick up a mess, open a container, put away toys, and pick up crayons that had spilled on the floor. In each case, the children had to stop playing to help.
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