‘Little Hero’, a web-based intervention to promote moral values among children: A study of its development and effectiveness

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the development and effectiveness of a website intervention program called ‘Little Hero.’ The aims of Study 1 were (1) to investigate whether prosocial behavior changed following the application of the Little Hero program and whether the change was maintained at follow-up and (2) to explore Argentinean children’s opinions of the program. The results indicated that prosocial behavior changed following the application of Little Hero, and the change was maintained three months later. Furthermore, the majority of the children included in Study 1 enjoyed participating in Little Hero, and most said that the program benefited them, found it easy to use, and would recommend it to other children. The purpose of Study 2 was to investigate the effectiveness of the Little Hero program in promoting prosociality, cognitive empathy, and positive emotions (gratitude, serenity, and personal satisfaction) among Uruguayan children. The results indicated that the Little Hero participants increased their prosocial behavior, empathy, and serenity. The gratitude levels of the intervention group did not change; however, those of the control group decreased over the three time points. Furthermore, the program was not effective in promoting personal satisfaction.