Moral emotions arise from evaluating oneself or others based on moral standards. The elementary school stage is crucial for the development of children's moral emotions. This study aims to explore the relationships between moral emotions, cooperative behavior, and social mindfulness.
A sample of 397 fourth-to-sixth-grade students participated in the study. The Social Mindfulness experimental paradigm was employed, and questionnaires were used to assess moral emotions, cooperative behavior, and social mindfulness. The results showed that: 1. Moral emotions and social mindfulness positively predicted cooperative behavior. 2.The development of children's moral emotions was influenced by age and parental education level. 3.Moral emotions positively predicted social mindfulness, and social mindfulness partially mediated the relationship between moral emotions and cooperative behavior. Through group counseling interventions targeting moral emotions in fourth-to-sixth-grade students, it was found that enhancing moral emotions effectively improved children's cooperative behavior.