UNDERSTANDING HOW CHILDREN DEVELOP EMPATHY

The capacity to notice the distress of others, and to be moved by it, can be a critical component of what is calledprosocial behavior, actions that benefit others: individuals, groups or society as a whole.

Dr. Eisenberg, a professor of psychology at Arizona State University, draws a distinction between empathy and sympathy:
Empathy is experiencing the same emotion or highly similar emotion to what the other person is feeling.

Sympathy is feeling concern or sorrow for the other person.

The ingredients of prosocial behavior, from kindness to philanthropy, are more complex and varied. They include:
·         the ability to perceive others’ distress
·         the sense of self that helps sort out your own identity and feelings
·         the regulatory skills that prevent distress so severe it turns to aversion, and
·         the cognitive and emotional understanding of the value of helping.

c4c
 
Prosocial behaviour is motivational
Scott Huettel, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke, described prosocial behavior was essentially motivational: It feels good to help other people.

Experimental studies have shown that the same brain region that is activated when people win money for themselves is active when they give to charity — that is, that there is a kind of neurologic “reward” built into the motivational system of the brain.

“Charitable giving can activate the same pleasure-reward centers, the dopaminergic centers, in the brain that are very closely tied to habit formation,” said Bill Harbaugh, an economist at the University of Oregon who studies altruism. “This suggests it might be possible to foster the same sorts of habits for charitable giving you see with other sorts of habits.”
Prosocial behaviour is based on social cognition
c4c
 
The other theory of prosocial behavior, Dr. Huettel said, is based on social cognition —the recognition that other people have needs and goals. The two theories aren’t mutually exclusive: Cognitive understanding accompanied by a motivational reward reinforces prosocial behavior.
But shaping prosocial behavior is a tricky business. For instance, certain financial incentives seem to deter prosocial impulses, a phenomenon called reward undermining, Dr. Huettel said.

Consider that in the United States, historically, blood donors could be paid, but not in Britain. And the British donated more blood. “When you give extrinsic motivations, they can supplant the intrinsic ones,” he said.

Fostering prosocial behavior in children, from kindness on to charity

Parental modeling is important, of course; sympathy and compassion should be part of children’s experience long before they know the words.
Explain how other people feel. Reflect the child’s feelings, but also point out, look, “you hurt someone’s feelings.”

Don’t offer material rewards for prosocial behavior, but do offer opportunities to do good — opportunities that the child will see as voluntary. And help children see themselves and frame their own behavior as generous, kind, helpful, as the mother in my exam room did.

Working with a child’s temperament, taking advantage of an emerging sense of self and increasing cognitive understanding of the world and helped by the reward centers of the brain, parents can try to foster that warm glow and the worldview that goes with it.

Empathy, sympathy, compassion, kindness and charity begin at home, and very early.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5-Step Plan to Reverse Diabetes

Image
Step 1: Remove These Foods to Reverse Diabetes Naturally Certain foods negatively affect your blood sugar levels, cause inflammation and trigger immune responses. To reverse diabetes naturally, the first step is to remove these foods from your diet: Refined sugar: Refined sugar rapidly spikes blood glucose, and soda, fruit juice and other sugary beverages are the worst culprits. These forms of sugar enter the bloodstream rapidly and can cause extreme elevations in blood glucose. (7) Even though natural sweeteners like raw honey and maple syrup are better options, they can still affect blood sugar levels, so only use these foods on occasion. Your best option is to switch to stevia, a natural sweetener that won’t have as much of an impact. Grains: Grains, especially gluten-containing grains like wheat, contain large amounts of carbohydrates that are broken down into sugar within only a few minutes of consumption. Gluten can cause intestinal inflammation, which affects hormones like...
Read more

Does apple cider vinegar help people with diabetes?

Image
Apple cider vinegar may have various health benefits, such as supporting weight loss and managing blood sugar. These benefits could help people with or at risk of diabetes. However, scientific research has not yet confirmed them. Scientists have yet to back up the majority of the health claims around apple cider vinegar with significant clinical research. However, some evidence has emerged to suggest that apple cider vinegar may have particular benefits for the management of diabetes. Diabetes is a chronic condition that leads to an inability to manage blood sugar levels properly. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 1980, around 108 million people had diabetes. Its prevalence has significantly increased over the past few decades to an estimated 422 million in 2014. This article looks at the research that links apple cider vinegar and diabetes, as well as ways to take apple cider vinegar effectively. According to scientists, apple cider vinegar has the potential to ...
Read more

The Dangers of Ego-Driven Spending: A Call for Reality Check

Image
In a world where status and outward appearances reign supreme, it's all too easy to fall into the trap of ego-driven spending. We live in a society where success is often measured by the size of our possessions and the prestige of our lifestyle. As a result, many of us find ourselves chasing after the latest trends and splurging on luxury items in a bid to keep up with the Joneses. But what if I told you that some of the wealthiest individuals in the world eschew ostentatious displays of wealth in favor of a more modest lifestyle? Take, for example, Warren Buffett, one of the most successful investors of all time. Despite his immense wealth, Buffett is known for his frugal habits, driving the same modest car and living in the same unassuming house for decades. Similarly, tech titan Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, is often seen wearing a simple gray t-shirt and jeans, despite being worth billions of dollars. And then there's Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, who fam...
Read more