Facial expressions for kids: Helping children read emotions and intentions
Reading facial expressions is an important skill. What does normal development look like, and how can we help kids learn to read faces?
empathy
Do babies feel empathy?
Yes, babies feel empathy. They can “catch” other people’s emotions. They show sympathy, and even offer to help. But their behavior depends on how we treat them.
Can babies sense stress in others? Yes they can!
Stressed-out parents often wonder: Can babies sense tension and anger? Can babies sense stress in their caregivers? Experimental research confirms that stress is contagious.
Compassionate deception: Do children tell prosocial lies?
Do children tell prosocial lies – lies intended to protect another person from harm? Fascinating experiments indicate that many kids are capable of this by the age of 7, and some children show the capacity even earlier.
Emotion coaching: Helping kids cope with negative feelings
Emotion coaching is the practice of tuning into children’s feelings, and helping kids learn to cope with negative emotions like fear, anger, and sadness.
Raising helpful kids: Tips for teaching generosity and kindness
© 2020 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved How do you teach kids to be helpful? To be generous and kind? Studies suggest we should avoid heavy-handed tactics and bribes. Instead, we need to respect — and nurture — our children’s natural inclinations to do good. Helpful? Generous? Caring? Psychologists call these behaviors “prosocial,” and … Continue reading
Moral sense: Babies prefer underdogs and do-gooders
Do babies have prosocial impulses? Do they feel empathy? A preference for do-gooders? An inclination to be helpful? Do babies know right from wrong? Let’s be clear: We shouldn’t hold babies responsible for moral transgressions. They can’t anticipate all the consequences of the things they do. If your baby hits you in the face with … Continue reading
The hot-cold empathy gap: Why we underestimate our own feelings, and the feelings of others
People have trouble predicting their own feelings. No wonder they make mistakes interpreting the feelings of others. Learn about the hot-cold empathy gap and how we might overcome it.
Empathy and the brain
Human empathy depends on the ability to share the emotions of others, to feel what other people feel. It is regarded by many people as the foundation of moral behavior. But to some, the concept seems rather airy-fairy. What does it mean to say “I feel your pain”? Isn’t that just a fanciful flight of … Continue reading
The case for teaching empathy: Why empathy doesn’t just “happen”
© 2009 -2013 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved Teaching empathy? A skeptic might wonder if it makes any difference. Can’t we assume that empathy will emerge automatically, as part of the developmental process? After all, even babies show signs of empathy. For instance, experiments confirm that newborn babies are more likely to cry if … Continue reading
Teen brains lack empathy? No! How the media got it wrong
When I searched the web today, I found a batch of stories with headlines like “Study: Teenage brain lacks empathy,” and “Teen Brain: It’s all about me.” These stories describe a brain scan study, but key facts are incorrectly reported. Contrary to the headlines, the study didn’t actually measure empathy. Nor did researchers observe any … Continue reading