The development of cognitive empathy and concern in preschool children: A behavioral neuroscience investigation

Developmental Science
Jean DecetyJason M Cowell

Abstract

This developmental neuroscience study examined the electrophysiological responses (EEG and ERPs) associated with perspective taking and empathic concern in preschool children, as well as their relation to parental empathy dispositions and children's own prosocial behavior. Consistent with a body of previous studies using stimuli depicting somatic pain in both children and adults, larger early (~200 ms) ERPs were identified when perceiving painful versus neutral stimuli. In the slow wave window (~800 ms), a significant interaction of empathy condition and stimulus type was driven by a greater difference between painful and neutral images in the empathic concern condition. Across early development, children exhibited enhanced N2 to pain when engaging in empathic concern. Greater pain-elicited N2 responses in the cognitive empathy condition also related to parent dispositional empathy. Children's own prosocial behavior was predicted by several individual differences in neural function, including larger early LPP responses during cognitive empathy and greater differentiation in late LPP and slow wave responses to empathic concern versus affective perspective taking. Left frontal activation (greater alpha suppression) while engaging...Continue Reading

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Citations

Apr 20, 2017·Development and Psychopathology·Jean Decety, Jason M Cowell
Jan 30, 2020·Social Neuroscience·Ashley M FraserSonya Xinyue Xiao
Sep 27, 2019·Cognition & Emotion·Keith J Yoder, Jean Decety
Jul 19, 2019·Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience·Nobuhiko GotoAlexandre Schaefer
Mar 19, 2019·Behavioural Neurology·Veronica GuadagniFrancesca Pistoia
Jan 9, 2019·Frontiers in Psychology·Chenyi ChenYawei Cheng
Jul 7, 2019·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Víctor Arufe-GiráldezManuel Castro-Sánchez
Dec 15, 2020·Developmental Science·Margaret AddabboChiara Turati
Feb 4, 2021·Social Neuroscience·Carl Michael GalangSukhvinder S Obhi
May 1, 2021·Frontiers in Psychology·Jian Hao, Xu Du
May 13, 2021·Psychology Research and Behavior Management·Mirosława Czerniawska, Joanna Szydło
Jun 4, 2021·Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders·Jonas G MillerAllan L Reiss
Oct 15, 2020·Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S P·Víctor P Díaz-NarváezLuz Marina Alonso-Palacio
Oct 18, 2021·International Journal of Psychophysiology : Official Journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology·Lindsay DickeyAutumn Kujawa

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